Antonio Conte is considering reuniting the midfield partnership that helped inspire Leicester City's improbable Premier League triumph two seasons ago after pairing Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kanté in training before Sunday's visit of Manchester United.
The Chelsea head coach, who is seeking an immediate positive response after his side were thrashed by Roma in midweek, has been denied the opportunity to field both players together this season because of injury. Drinkwater succumbed early to a calf complaint from which he has only just recovered, and has yet to start a – Premier League game since his £35 million (€39m) move in August. Kanté has been absent since damaging a hamstring in France's World Cup qualifying victory over –Bulgaria last month.
The Frenchman has been back in full training for more than a week and might have featured at the Stadio Olimpico, only to indicate he did not feel ready. The club’s medical staff will check on Kanté before kick-off but the 26-year-old is expected to line up against United and has worked alongside Drinkwater in training.
Progressing well
“N’Golo is progressing well,” said Conte. “We have also Saturday and then I’ll take the best decision for N’Golo and for the team. But we are talking about an important player.”
Conte revealed that Roman Abramovich watched training last Sunday in the wake of the 1-0 win at Bournemouth, with the owner having been at Cobham this week. The champions are nine points off Manchester City in the league, albeit still in fourth place, and the humiliation at Roma prompted the head coach to question, both publicly and privately, his players' commitment and hunger to defend their title. He has since claimed the team's malaise will demonstrate whether the players "are winners or losers".
“Honestly, we spoke about the Bournemouth game and then the first game against Rome,” he said of Sunday’s conversation with the owner. “My relationship with Mr Abramovich is the same as last season, and I don’t see a difference between this season and last [in that respect]. My only concern is to put everything into the job so that, when I finish my work, I’m satisfied with what I’ve done.”
