Chelsea captain Reece James has suffered one other harm setback after being dominated out of the Premier League match at Leicester Metropolis on Saturday.
Head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that 24-year-old James sustained a minor hamstring downside throughout coaching on Tuesday.
That is the ninth time James has been dominated out with a hamstring harm prior to now 5 years. He went 18 months with out finishing 90 minutes within the Premier League between April 2023-October 2024 and had surgical procedure final December in a bid to remedy it for good.
However James has made simply three begins for the membership this marketing campaign and is now going through one other spell on the sidelines.
Maresca mentioned: “We’ve only one injured participant and that’s Reece, who sadly felt one thing small and we don’t need to take any dangers for the weekend. He’s the one one (proper now) who’s for positive not out there this weekend. It’s a hamstring, a muscle downside. Hopefully it’s not one thing lengthy.”
Chelsea play Heidenheim within the UEFA Convention League subsequent Thursday and Maresca is already suggesting James will be unable to return for that fixture.
Maresca says James’ lack of availability is extra irritating for him and added: “I do know that it’s not straightforward (for him). But when each time he will get injured it turns into laborious for him, it’s for me even worse.
“He has to just accept that and attempt to keep away from (harm) as a lot as he can. However typically issues occur even if you wish to keep away from it.
“Now we’re enjoying each three days so it’s in all probability tough for him to be out there for the Convention League. Hopefully he may be out there quickly.”
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Reece James: Captain, chief, left-back
Accidents have stalled James’s profession
The harm could have been initially described as ‘minor’ however the information that Reece James is complaining of one other hamstring downside is one other important blow for the 24-year-old.
James is considered probably the greatest proper backs in Europe however his profession has stalled since being a part of the Chelsea squad which gained the Champions League in 2021 — attributable to his quantity of health points.
For instance, the defender was on the pitch for simply 482 minutes in all competitions for Chelsea final season. He has began simply three video games below Enzo Maresca in 2024-25 and the primary of these solely got here final month after breaking down in pre-season.
After making his comeback, Maresca warned that James is able to solely enjoying “as soon as every week” in the intervening time. However despite the fact that his minutes have been managed, it has not prevented one other difficulty from occurring.
James is already going through robust competitors from Malo Gusto to play repeatedly in a Chelsea shirt. Within the membership’s earlier fixture towards Arsenal, he was named on the bench with Marc Cucurella and Gusto beginning at full again.
Whereas Maresca clearly needs to incorporate James in his plans, it’s clearly not scenario for Chelsea to be with out their captain regularly.
(Michael Regan/Getty Photographs)
