Reports Claim N'Golo Kante Fainted After Training Session Prior to Manchester City Defeat

Fresh reports have surfaced claiming N'Golo Kante fainted after first team training on the Friday prior to Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Kante was absent from the match day squad when Chelsea were outclassed by the league leaders, with the club stating he missed out through illness.

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However according to ESPN, Kante in fact fainted in the dressing room after Chelsea's training session on Friday. The 26-year-old was instantly sent to a specialist for checks amid initial fears he may have suffered a heart problem, however although there were no worrying results, Conte decided to leave him out of the squad after Kante reportedly still felt ill on Sunday morning.

Extra precautions have been taken by clubs following the sudden death of Fiorentina captain Davide Astori - who died after suffering a reported cardiac arrest during his sleep - and the club were keen not to rush the midfielder back into action.

Club doctors are adamant it was a one-off event and that Kante will return to training this week ahead of Chelsea's clash against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with the cause believed by many experts to be related to a warm dressing room following training in sub-temperatures - although this has not been confirmed.

The Blues certainly missed their star man as they were completely outclassed by City, with many pundits labelling Chelsea's performance as 'disgraceful'. They'll be hoping to have the Frenchman back to full fitness soon with the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with Barcelona on March 14th.