Chelsea’s Reece James suffers new injury setback

Chelsea captain Reece James has been dealt another injury setback, ruling him out of Saturday’s Premier League clash against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.  

The 24-year-old right-back recently returned to action in October after missing the start of the season due to injury.

However, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca confirmed on Thursday that James will not feature this weekend due to a hamstring issue.

Maresca expressed hope that the injury would not sideline James for an extended period.

Yet, considering the player’s history of recurring fitness problems, the manager emphasized the importance of caution to avoid further complications.

James’ ongoing injury struggles have been a concern for Chelsea, and his absence poses another challenge as the team seeks consistency in their Premier League campaign.

“Reece, unfortunately, felt something small and we don’t want to take any risks this weekend,” Maresca told reporters.

“Hopefully it’s not something longer. He felt something, he has to be out and then we’ll see. It’s his hamstring, a muscle problem.”

James has struggled to stay fit for much of the last two seasons, but Maresca is still confident he can eventually shake off his injury-plagued reputation.

“For sure,” he added. “But in this moment it is not happening.”

Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill pulled out of England duty over the international break due to fitness concerns, while Maresca also has doubts over Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana and Jadon Sancho.

“Some of them are better, some of them we’ll test today,” he said of Chelsea’s walking wounded.

England captain Harry Kane criticised the nine players who opted out of England duty, insisting playing for the Three Lions should come before anything else.

There were suggestions that managers had persuaded their England players to stay away to avoid injuries at a busy time of the season.

But, asked if he had any contact with the England camp over the withdrawals of Palmer and Colwill, Maresca said: “To be honest we played Arsenal and then I left for a week.”

Maresca will be making his first trip back to Leicester since guiding the Foxes to promotion from the Championship last season, before quitting to replace Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge.

It will be an emotional occasion for Maresca, who said: “First of all I’m excited and also thankful.

“It was a fantastic season because I met good people and in terms of players it was fantastic.

“We had a fantastic connection between the players and staff, this is something you need to create when you want to make something important.

“I will be thankful to them all my life, we have a special connection.”