Reece James has suffered another injury setback, with a hamstring problem keeping the Chelsea captain out of their Premier League trip to Leicester this Saturday.
Enzo Maresca revealed in his pre-match press conference that James is the only player out as he prepares to face his former club, although the Blues will evaluate those returning from long international trips. That includes South American duo Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández.
James’ career has been plagued by injuries, with the 24-year-old captain making just 11 appearances in all competitions last season, and Maresca said: “He felt something.
“He has to be out, for sure, this weekend, and then we’ll see.” At the moment we don’t know how long. We’ll see.
“I know it’s not easy, but if every time you get injured it’s difficult for you, for me it’s even worse. You have to accept that. You have to try to avoid it as much as you can.
‘But sometimes things happen, even if you want to avoid them. This weekend it is not available. Unfortunately he felt something small. It’s a hamstring. It’s a muscle problem. We don’t want to take any risks this weekend.
Reece James will miss Saturday’s trip to Leicester after feeling something in his hamstring
Enzo Maresca stated that the ‘bleus’ “do not want to take any risks” regarding the physical form of the full-back
‘The rest, some are better, others are still doubtful and we have to wait. Today is the first session we do with all the (returning) international players. We’ll see after today’s session.’
Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill are among those fit to face Leicester, along with Jadon Sancho, who has returned to training.
Sancho’s last appearance was over a month ago, in the 2-1 Premier League defeat to Liverpool. Romeo Lavia is also expected to be healthy enough to start.
James has been plagued by injuries over the last two campaigns, making just 16 Premier League appearances in the 2022-23 season.
He was then limited to just 413 minutes last season after being named club captain before the season.
His troubles in the professional ranks began after an ankle injury while playing for England at the Toulon Tournament in June 2019.
Since then, James has been sidelined with knee, thigh and ankle problems, with his hamstrings being an area of particular concern.
In addition to missing Euro 2024, he was also absent from the 2022 World Cup squad after suffering a knee injury during preparation.