Antonio Conte reveals how long N'Golo Kante will be out

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has revealed that N'Golo Kante will be sidelined for at least four weeks after he sustained a hamstring injury on international duty.

The France international suffered the muscle problem in the 1-0 triumph over Bulgaria, and he has since undergone a MRI scan which has suggested a timeline of around four weeks for recovery.

Speaking ahead of the Crystal Palace game, Conte admitted that the Blues will have to cope without Kante until November, although he hopes to have a positive update with a second scan scheduled next week.

"We are going to do a scan next week to check Kante's situation, if he's improving. It's a muscular problem, a hamstring problem.The previous scan [was] maybe 20, 25 days [out of action]," he told reporters, via ESPN.

"In this situation we must pay great attention and for this reason we are going to do another scan in one week to understand the situation very well, [to see] if this scan is better than the scan before."

Kante was a crucial player in the Blues' Premier League triumph last year, and his absence for a prolonged period could have an impact on the club's performances.

The reigning champions have a crunch game against Manchester United prior to the November international break, and it could be touch or go for Kante, as things stand.

Chelsea currently have two fit senior midfielders in Cesc Fabregas and Tiemoue Bakayoko in their ranks, but Conte has hinted that the likes of Kyle Scott and Ethan Ampadu could gain some gametime with the first-team.