Chelsea and France midfielder, N’golo Kante has been ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar after having an operation on a hamstring injury.

The 31-year-old had not featured since limping off in the London derby 2-2 draw against Tottenham in August.

N’Golo Kante has undergone an operation on his hamstring injury,” Chelsea said in a statement.

“The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage.

“Following a successful operation, N’Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months.”

The former Leicester midfielder played a vital role in France’s success in Russia four years ago and will be a big miss for Didier Deschamps with his regular midfield partner at international level, Paul Pogba, also a major doubt for the tournament in Qatar.

France are drawn in the Group D of the mondial event, alongside former colony, Tunisia, Denmark and Australia. They saw off Australia and Denmark in 2018, topping the group before winning the entire tournament in Russia.

‘Les Bleus’ and Denmark are the heavy favourites to qualify from Group D ahead of Tunisia and Australia.

Didier Deschamps men will play their opening group match against Australia on November 22.

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