Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed that midfielder N'Golo Kante will remain on the sidelines for at least another month.
During the closing stages of the 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on August 14, Kante was forced to be withdrawn with a hamstring injury.
When previously commenting on the issue, Tuchel has suggested that the Frenchman would spend a number of weeks in the treatment room.
However, 12 days on from Kante sustaining the injury, Tuchel has told reporters at a press conference that a player that he describes as "key" will be absent for a minimum of another four weeks.
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Tuchel said: "We are talking about weeks, talking about four weeks plus. I think that I told you at the end of last season that he is our key player normally, that he gives something to our team that no other player in the world can give to another team.
"That makes him a key player. If your key player is out, it is a situation that you don't like and have to deal with, but it has huge influence, of course."
Kante has not been the only midfielder to spend time away from the group with Mateo Kovacic yet to play a single minute this campaign due to a knee issue.
However, Tuchel revealed that the Croatian will be in a position to play "20 minutes" against Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
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The German added: "We have missed his personality and experience and his quality, of course. It's maybe 20 minutes at the moment, it was his first training week without reaction in the knee and we cannot rush things, otherwise we will sabotage our own plans with him.
"We need him long term, but it is good to have him back as an option on the bench."
With it being revealed that Kante was the only player who did not feature in training on Friday, Armando Broja has also been declared fit to return to the group after missing the defeat at Elland Road last weekend.
Kalidou Koulibaly will also be absent from the squad as he serves a one-match ban for his red card in that fixture.
Darren Plant
