Report: Chelsea's N'Golo Kante out of Europa League Final with Knee Injury

Chelsea are reportedly set to be without star midfielder N'Golo Kante for Wednesday's UEFA Europa League showdown with Arsenal. 

According to Adrian Kajumba of the Daily Mail, the France international is unlikely to recover from a knee injury in time for the match in Baku, Azerbaijan.

"Kante twisted his knee in training on Saturday, and the World Cup winner's absence in Baku on Wednesday night will leave manager Maurizio Sarri down to the bare bones in central midfield," wrote Kajumba.

It's reported Kante was on course to be ready for the game as he sought to recover from a hamstring problem that kept him sidelined for Chelsea's last two Premier League matches of the season. However, this is a new injury.

Sarri had previously said he was confident of the midfielder being ready for the all-English encounter.

While some questions have been asked about Kante's position this season—he's been pushed forward into a more advanced midfield role by Sarri—once again he has been one of the team's most influential players.

Kante has become renowned for his immense defensive work rate, but this season he's been able to chip in at the other end of the pitch, per Opta's Duncan Alexander:

The Frenchman's surges from midfield have been hard for opposition players to track. However, Kante is never a player to shirk his defensive responsibility, as he's quick to recover position and help Chelsea establish a midfield shape when they lose possession.

For Sarri, this is the second major midfield absentee. Ruben Loftus-Cheek has also been ruled out of the match, meaning the Blues are likely to field a midfield trio of Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic and Ross Barkley.

Chelsea finished in fourth place in the Premier League this season, and the Europa League final will cap off a solid debut term for Sarri. With Kante unavailable, the team's chances of success in the showpiece have taken a significant hit.