Lampard believes Kante can get back to his best

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Frank Lampard is convinced N’Golo Kante can get back to his best despite his injury woes.

The French midfielder, 32, suffered injuries during Lampard’s first spell as Blues boss and has continued to struggle.

But Lampard, back at the helm after being placed in interim charge following the recent sacking of Graham Potter, believes Kante can be a highly influential player again.


Kante recently returned to action after being sidelined since August.

He was rested for Saturday’s defeat at Wolves but is back in the squad for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid.

And Lampard points to his outstanding performance in the 2019 Uefa Super Cup – prior to which he had been out with a knee problem – as proof that Kante is capable of making an emphatic return.

“I think N’Golo’s a special player,” said Lampard.

“In terms of coming back and playing at a really high level, I’ve witnessed him do it. He did it in the Super Cup final for me against Liverpool a few years ago.

“He had to pass a fitness test, hadn’t trained for a long time, and he was the best player on the pitch for 120 minutes, pretty much.

“So I think he has the capacity to do that because he’s a special player. Hopefully he can do that for us, because he’s that high a level of player and when we miss him as a club we (really) miss him because of how good he is.

“It’s a positive that he’s back, for sure.”

Lampard also has Thiago Silva back in his squad after injury, while Mason Mount has been passed fit as well.