Kante gives Leicester a lift after recovering from injury
The midfielder trained with the squad on Friday ahead of the league leaders' clash with Watford. Ranieri on the North London derby: "Can they both lose?"
Leicester City's bid to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League has been given an unexpected boost before Saturday's trip to Watford, with influential midfielder N'Golo Kante returning to training from a hamstring injury.
Kante, who played every league game before missing Tuesday's 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion, had been expected to miss the Watford game, but manager Claudio Ranieri said on Friday that the Frenchman could return ahead of schedule.
"N'Golo Kante today made all of the training session and was good. Tomorrow I will decide. He could play," the Italian told a news conference.
Leicester dropped points in midweek, but title rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Manchester City all lost, allowing the Foxes to open up a three-point lead at the top.
Third-placed Arsenal visit local rivals second-placed Tottenham on Saturday but Ranieri said he would pay no attention to the North London derby. "Can both lose?" he asked. "We have to concentrate on Watford. There are 10 matches left. It will be a big battle. Every match. Nobody can enjoy. Everybody must win."
Leicester are pushing for their first league title and Ranieri said his team would have to neutralise Watford's in-form strike force of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, who have scored 22 of their team's 29 league goals this season.
"Attacking and defending, Watford play together. They play narrow and play very high," he said. "They have not only Deeney and Ighalo. They are a good team with a good manager. There are so many good players in the squad."