Reece James has sustained another hamstring injury and will miss Chelsea’s Premier League visit to Leicester on Saturday, with his manager, Enzo Maresca, unsure about the time frame on the recovery.
James felt the problem in training on Tuesday and it is the latest blow for the captain, who had hamstring surgery last December which ruled him out until the final few games of the season. He injured a hamstring again on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States and played his first match of the campaign at Liverpool on 20 October.
Maresca had said before that game he was looking to ease James back by initially limiting his match time because he felt the player’s body could not cope with two games in a week. James started Chelsea’s next two in the league after Liverpool – against Newcastle and Manchester United – before Maresca used him as an 82nd-minute substitute against Arsenal before the international break.
“Reece felt something and we don’t want to take any risks for the weekend,” Maresca said. “It’s a hamstring. It was two days ago. Hopefully it’s not something long. He has to be out for sure this weekend and then we’ll see. At the moment we don’t know how long.
“It’s not easy [for James] but if every time he is getting an injury it becomes hard for him, for me it’s even worse. He has to try to avoid it as much as he can. But sometimes things happen even if you want to avoid them.”
Maresca added that with the games coming thick and fast, it was “probably difficult” for James to be available in the Conference League. Chelsea’s next tie in the competition is at Heidenheim next Thursday.
James was the only player Maresca definitively ruled out of the Leicester game, although he does have selection doubts. Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill were among the Chelsea players to withdraw from international duty, the pair missing England’s matches with fitness issues.
Wesley Fofana pulled out of France’s games; Malo Gusto likewise for France’s under-21s. Roméo Lavia did not play for Belgium because of a hamstring problem. Asked about Palmer and Colwill, Maresca answered in more general terms. “Some of them are better, some we will test today,” he said. “But overall, for sure, they are much better.”
