N'Golo Kante and Victor Moses to miss Bournemouth vs Chelsea but Frenchman could return for Roma

N'Golo Kante and Victor Moses will remain on the sidelines when Chelsea visit Bournemouth on Saturday (28 October) but Antonio Conte still hopes to recover the Frenchman ahead of the following crucial encounters with AS Roma and Manchester United.

The former Leicester City star has been out of action since picking up a hamstring injury while on international duty during France's 1-0 victory over Bulgaria on 7 October.

Meanwhile, Moses has missed Chelsea's last three games against Roma, Watford and Everton and being forced off with another hamstring issue during the Blues defeat at Crystal Palace on 14 October.

Conte has confirmed that the trip to Bournemouth will still come too soon for the duo but Kante could be back in time to face Roma on 31 October.

"Moses is out. For him we must have patience before seeing him in the team," Conte confirmed in the press conference ahead of the clash with Bournemouth.

"N'Golo is still not ready. We have to wait and I hope to have him back for the Roma game."

The return of the Frenchman against Roma will mean a special boost for Chelsea as the Champions League clash will come only four days before the visit of Manchester United on 5 November.

Danny Drinkwater, meanwhile, made his Chelsea debut during the midweek victory over Everton in the Carabao Cup, playing 62 minutes before being replaced by Cesc Fabregas.

However, the England international is not expected to start against Bournemouth with Conte claiming that the International still needs to build up his match fitness.

"Danny Drinkwater played against Everton but for sure he needs to find the right physical condition. The other players are available," the Chelsea boss added.

The Blues visit the second-bottom of the table following two consecutive victories over Watford in the Premier League and Everton in the Carabao Cup.

Conte backed the Blues to continue the good run at Bournemouth in order to put behind a disappointing start to the season which has sparked a lot of speculations about his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

"Our start this season wasn't lucky for many reasons, but we are doing well and we have the points we deserve in the league," the Chelsea boss added. "We are doing well in the Champions League. We went in the next step of the Carabao Cup - last season West Ham eliminated us in the fourth round. We have to continue to work and also to find new potential players like Ampadu."

Yet, the Chelsea boss hit back at reports claiming that a number of Chelsea players had contacted former Conte's assistant manager Steve Holland telling him they miss him and were unhappy with the Italian methods.

"They are trying to create problems between me and the club, and the players. This is a lack of respect," Conte said.

"I can accept you write that the club is ready to sack me, I can accept the story with the players, but to put another person in this way is incorrect. It's not good that this person has to send me a message to tell me this is not true. If you want to hit me, hit me, but not other people. I hate this type of situation,"

"This is a stroll for me. From my experience as a player and a coach this is a stroll for me. You don't know the pressure you have when you're the manager of a national team, of your country during a World Cup or a European Championship. Not one person can know this situation. If this news makes the newspaper more interesting, continue to do this, but don't involve other people because this is incorrect."