Chelsea manager Frank Lampard, who had to deal with a number of injuries in his team before the footballing season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has given an update on how the injured players are recovering and spoken at a length about N’Golo Kante.

Kante was one of a number of Blues who missed Chelsea’s last game against Everton due to injury; Mateo Kovacic, Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi as well as long-term absentee Ruben Loftus-Cheek were also injured.

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“This season he has played about 40 per cent of our games. Even then it’s been difficult for him. I’ve really felt for him on an individual level,” Lampard said as quoted on the official website of Chelsea.

“He’s been a huge miss for us. Looking forward, and whenever a restart comes, we want to get him in his best shape. We want to get Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has missed the whole season, in his best shape,” he added.

Lampard, who hailed Kante as one of the best footballers in the world at the moment, expressed his regret for not being able to use the 2018 World Cup winner to his full ability.

“We obviously need N’Golo Kante in our team, one of the best players in the world. I knew that before becoming the manager of Chelsea, I know that from working with him. We unfortunately haven’t been able to have him much this year, but going forward we want him fit and ready to go,” the former England international added.

Meanwhile, the Premier League had earlier extended the suspension of the current season beyond May and said it “will only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so” amid the deadly outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However according to a BBC report on Saturday, the English Premier League officials held a meeting with culture secretary Oliver Dowden and various medical experts from sports organisations, government and Public Health England to step up the planning for football’s eventual return in the country.

However, in the meeting between Premier League officials and the clubs on Friday, no decision was taken but all the stakeholders reiterated their desire to finish the 2019/20 season subject to restrictions being lifted in the country.