Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante missed Sunday's 1-0 defeat against Manchester City and it is fair to say that his trademark energy was sorely missed.

The Blues and their under-pressure manager Antonio Conte have attracted no shortage of criticism for their performance at the Etihad Stadium.

Many Chelsea players were walking and not sprinting to put pressure on their hosts and a lack of ambition in both their formation and build-up play has also come under fire.

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It is tough to imagine Kante would have been content to amble around in such a low-intensity approach, which saw central midfield duo Cesc Fabregas and Danny Drinkwater fail to lay a glove on their opponents.

The French international was ruled out of the City game after fainting in training but Sky Sports report that he has come through extensive tests with flying colours and has been passed fit to make his return to first team action.

That means he is in contention to face struggling Crystal Palace on Saturday afternoon at Stamford Bridge and given the timid performance of Drinkwater in particular, he is likely to come straight back into the starting eleven right away.