Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has moved to ease fears surrounding midfielder N'Golo Kante.

The Frenchman was taken off at half-time against Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup third round clash, which Chelsea won on penalties.

Kante has experienced a stop-start campaign so far this term, as he recovers from a busy end to last season with the Blues and France.

He had come on for midfielder Mason Mount at half-time in their Premier League clash against Tottenham a few days before the Villa game.

"For Mason and N'Golo it was clear that we share the game," Tuchel told reporters.

"Thiago [Silva] and Romelu [Lukaku] we had for both cases. We said to Thiago maybe we need you for the last 15 if it was necessary to defend and have someone with experience and calm.

"With Romelu we said if we need you 10-15 minutes from the end if we need a goal and this is why they were with us.

"Ross Barkley was strong from the bench and some other guys who didn't play for a long time stepped up and showed their competitiveness."