https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62174846 Chelsea: Thomas Tuchel on N'Golo Kante & Ruben Loftus-Cheek's tour absence By Alistair Magowan - 15 July 2022 Manager Thomas Tuchel "doesn't blame" N'Golo Kante and Ruben Loftus-Cheek for missing Chelsea's United States tour because of their vaccination status. Tuchel says the duo, who were unable to travel to the US as they are not fully vaccinated, will be ready for the new season despite missing the trip. "We don't blame people and don't put the finger on them," said Tuchel. The midfielders will miss a week of pre-season training with the squad in Los Angeles and three friendlies. The Blues face Mexico's Club America in Las Vegas on 17 July, Charlotte FC at their Bank of America Stadium on 21 July and Arsenal in Orlando on 23 July. "There's a personal decision to take and both of them took their personal decision," added Tuchel. "It doesn't matter if I understand it, if I like it or, for the professional life, it's a disadvantage right now. "We would have liked both of them here but once we knew, we needed to provide the best solution, which is to provide training at Cobham on a high physical level. They will be fit when we are back there." Kante, 31, has struggled with a knee problem in the past two seasons and missed key parts of the last Premier League campaign. Chelsea were top of the table going into December, but fell behind Manchester City while Kante was sidelined and never recovered their league position. The France midfielder, who has a year left on his Chelsea contract, also pulled out of his country's Nations League squad last month with a knee injury. Tuchel said Kante would be a "key figure" for the Stamford Bridge club this campaign and believes pre-season training at Cobham tailored to his needs will be beneficial. But he will miss tactical sessions with his team-mates, with the 31-player squad arriving back from the US two weeks before the new Premier League season begins. "N'Golo knows what pre-season is all about and for him especially it gives us the possibility to build him up very individually," Tuchel added. "He has coaches there in London who take care of him and he is integrated in the Under-23 and Under-19 training so he also has team training. "We need N'Golo to have more minutes on the pitch. He is one of our key figures and the key players need to be on the pitch otherwise they cannot be key players, so this is how we are handling things at the moment." Both Kante and Loftus-Cheek played in a 4-2 win for a Chelsea XI against Boreham Wood on Friday night. -- Hoddle: 'Matthew will be sitting up there looking down now and loving Chelsea being winners. He'll just love Chelsea winning.' --

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