Chelsea’s Europa League final preparations have been extremely sour, to say the least.

Indeed, not only did in-form Ruben Loftus-Cheek suffered the most unfortunate injuries, but their midfield engine N’Golo Kante’s yet to recover from his own problems.

The French superstar’s a major doubt for Wednesday (per the Evening Standard), which will be Maurizio Sarri’s only chance to finish the season - and quite possibly his Chelsea managerial stint - by breaking his silverware duck. Obviously, Sarri might’ve misused Kante occasionally this season, but still relies upon the midfield phenomenon to lead from the front.

However, now he needs to rely upon the midfielder he signed after joining Chelsea. As a result, Matteo Kovacic will possibly play his final match for Chelsea, with his loan ending after that. However, with the Blues having an option to buy on him (they still can if they register him in time despite their transfer ban), the Croatian will need to impress in the final. Amazingly, the 25-year-old is yet to get off the mark for the Blues and has only assisted twice in the Premier League.

Yet, his work in Europe’s been very sound. Kovacic’s played in every single Europa League game, averaging 2.3 tackles, 2.5 dribbles completed and 91.9% passing accuracy per game (stats via WhoScored). All in all, he’s helped control games, been authoritative with his energetic demeanour and nullified the opposition midfielders’ threat.

He had mixed results against Arsenal earlier this season, once helping seal the deal for the Blues and being overrun the other time. However, on Wednesday, Kovacic needs to proceed with utmost concentration, spark his creative boots and operate with confidence to impress the Chelsea chiefs into making his London stay permanent.

Chelsea fans, do you think Kovacic can produce something special on Wednesday? Join the discussion by commenting below...