Report: Chelsea would let Kante miss rest of season over COVID-19 fears

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Chelsea are prepared to let N'Golo Kante miss training for as long as he feels unsafe during the Premier League's efforts to restart the 2019-20 season, according to BBC Sport's Alistair Magowan.

Initial reports didn't offer a timeline for Kante's training absence, but this latest account suggests the Frenchman could be unavailable to play until his coronavirus fears are assuaged - even if that means he's unavailable for the rest of the campaign.

The club supports the midfielder's decision to train at home and doesn't know when he plans to return to the Blues' Cobham base.

Kante missed a match in March 2018 after fainting in front of his teammates during a training session. Cardiology tests didn't reveal a heart issue for Kante, but his brother Niamh died of a heart attack later in 2018.

The Premier League is aiming to resume the campaign by mid-June, despite the United Kingdom reporting over 3,000 new COVID-19 cases and 351 related deaths on Friday. The UK's mortality rate exceeds 36,000, which is the second highest in the world after the United States.

The Office for National Statistics also released figures earlier in May, which indicated black men and women are nearly twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than white people in England and Wales. Watford captain Troy Deeney referred to these findings before deciding not to return to training over concerns he could pass the coronavirus to his five-month-old son, who has breathing difficulties.