Thomas Tuchel: It's a ‘miracle’ Chelsea finished third after N'Golo Kante’s injury issues

Thomas Tuchel said Chelsea's likely third-place Premier League finish despite the injury struggles of key player N'Golo Kante is nothing short of a "miracle".

French midfielder Kante has endured an injury-ravaged campaign that has seen him sit out more than half the Blues' matches in 2021/22.

But his influence was on full display Thursday as his energy and guile contributed to Chelsea's 1-1 draw at home to Leicester City that all but assures them of third place and with it automatic qualification to next season's Champions League group phase.

Chelsea boast a goal difference superiority of 18 on fourth-placed Tottenham, and manager Tuchel believes the job to seal third is effectively done and dusted.

Tuchel underlined Kante's influence, measuring his importance against the likes of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool and Neymar and Kylian Mbappe for Paris Saint-Germain.

“I think he is our key, key, key player; but key, key, key players need to be on the pitch,” Tuchel said of Kante.

“He plays only 40 per cent of the games. So it’s maybe a miracle that we arrived in third place.

“Because he is our Mo Salah, he is our Van Dijk, he is our [Kevin] De Bruyne, he is simply that player.

“He is our Neymar, he is our Kylian Mbappe; he is the guy who makes the difference.

“And if you only have him 40 per cent it’s a huge problem.

“Given that percentage it’s maybe a miracle of how consistent we produce results and puts everything into perspective.

“Because I saw Liverpool without Van Dijk last season and they struggled, heavily. And you see the difference.

“So N’Golo is our key player, and he needs to be on the pitch.”

Chelsea's French midfielder N'Golo Kante. AFP

Asked if Chelsea can solve Kante’s physical issues,