Willy Caballero insists the Chelsea squad understand N’Golo Kante’s stance on a return to training, the midfielder having been granted compassionate leave amid health concerns.
Kante has been granted permission to miss first-team training at Chelsea after expressing his apprehension over a return to action amidst the coronavirus pandemic, with the Frenchman’s stance given the full support of Frank Lampard and his coaching staff.
The 29-year-old’s reservations come following a series of family-related health concerns, including the loss of his brother to a heart attack two years ago, and Caballero insists Kante’s reservations are both ‘very understandable’ and supported by his teammates.
“It’s very understandable,” Caballero told Chelseafc.com. “We respect him and we’ll wait until he feels comfortable because the truth is that to do what we’re doing, you have to feel okay and feel confidence.
“After we start again, we have to all go forward together.”
Caballero revealed how Kante had expressed his concerns during video-chat meetings amongst the club’s players and staff, insisting the midfielder retains the utmost support and respect from his teammates.
“N’Golo is a very humble and hard-working person who is always smiling,” he added. “He must have his reasons to lift up his hand and say what he’s said.
“We did a lot of Zoom meetings with Frank Lampard and the other players and he said he didn’t feel safe going back to training because of the way he had felt over the last few weeks.
“We know he’s someone who loves training and running and is incapable of lying about something like this. We support him and we respect him.”
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