Why Ruben Loftus-Cheek And N'Golo Kante Will Not Travel With Chelsea For Their US Pre-Season Tour

Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante will not travel with the rest of the Chelsea squad for their pre-season tour in the USA, the club have confirmed.

Thomas Tuchel’s side are getting ready to begin their preparations for the new season, with the west London outfit embarking on a tour across the pond.

They will play Club America, Charlotte FC and Arsenal in a series of friendlies, before travelling to Udinese for another match once they have returned from the States.

Chelsea will play their first match in Las Vegas before their trip to Charlotte, and their match against the Gunners will take place in Orlando.

They set off on Saturday afternoon and the club revealed which members of the squad have travelled for the tour, with two key players being absent from the list.

As revealed on the official club website, Loftus-Cheek and Kante have not travelled with their teammates for the US tour, with their Covid vaccination status being stated as the reason why.

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While their presence may be missed during the tour, their absences could give some of the younger members of the squad a chance to impress Tuchel in the coming fortnight.

The likes of Billy Gilmour, Ethan Ampadu and Conor Gallagher have all been included on the list, with the trio all returning from their respective loan spells last season.

Chelsea’s full squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Edouard Mendy, Teddy Sharman-Lowe.

Defenders: Marcos Alonso, Ethan Ampadu, Cesar Azpilicueta, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Kenedy, Emerson Palmieri, Malang Sarr, Thiago Silva.

Midfielders: Ross Barkley, Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour, Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, Mason Mount, Harvey Vale.

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Forwards: Tino Anjorin, Michy Batshuayi, Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Christian Pulisic, Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech.

The club also revealed that Armando Broja will look to join the rest of the squad next week.

One of those who will be keen to impress in the coming days will be Hudson-Odoi, with the 21-year-old missing a lot of last season through injury.

He shared his aims for the summer when he said: “My main goal this summer and throughout the season is to be stronger.

"There were times in the season last year when I was running with the ball and feeling like I could get barged off it or I’m not as strong as I thought I was.

“I’ve been putting more muscle on in training to make sure I’m getting bigger so when the opponents come, I know that I’m strong enough to hold them off, or that I won’t get barged and I can barge them instead.”