UPDATE: Chelsea Confirm Captain Reece James Sidelined After Hamstring Injury

UPDATE: Friday, August 18 at 3:55 pm

CHELSEA confirmed the layoff of club captain Reece James in an official statement posted on social media this Friday, August 18. It said the defender was: ‘starting rehabilitation having undergone assessments on an injury sustained in training this week’.

The statement also said that their new French striker Christopher Nkunku was: ‘beginning the early stages of rehabilitation following surgery’.

The following injury update has been provided ahead of #WhuChe. ⤵️

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) August 18, 2023

Fabrizio Romano, the respected Italian football transfer expert, tweeted: “Pochettino on Reece James: ‘He will be out for few weeks — but the good thing is it’s not a big issue’.  #CFC”.

Pochettino on Reece James: “He will be out for few weeks — but the good thing is it’s not a big issue”. 🔵⚠️ #CFC pic.twitter.com/OdpJPpCtMz

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 18, 2023

He also quoted Pochettino’s comments about the possibility of bringing in a new striker after losing Nkunku for a lengthy period.

“Pochettino on new striker: ‘We are working to see all the options that we can manage on the market, to see the potentials and reality’.  #CFC ‘In the same time, we cannot forget Armando Broja, we really believe in him. He can be a really important striker for Chelsea'”, Romano posted.

Pochettino on new striker: “We are working to see all the options that we can manage on the market, to see the potentials and reality”. 🔵 #CFC

“In the same time, we cannot forget Armando Broja, we really believe in him. He can be a really important striker for Chelsea”. pic.twitter.com/K4zqepgo6K

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 18, 2023

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Thursday, August 17 at 6:39 pm

CHELSEA captain Reece James could be out for some time after picking up a hamstring injury.

According to Nathan Gissing, the England defender is due to undergo a scan later this Thursday, August 17. Pending the seriousness of this, he could face weeks or even months out of action.

Exclusive: Chelsea captain Reece James has picked up a fresh hamstring injury. Due for scan later on today. #CFC pic.twitter.com/blkd3GuXGq

— Nathan Gissing (@NathGissing) August 17, 2023

The 23-year-old full-back hobbled out of last Sunday’s eventual 1-1 draw with Liverpool, being substituted in the 80th minute. Mauricio Pochettino initially attempted to place the blame on his player being ‘tired’.

‘He was tired. You need to see from where he came. The first thing we did when we arrived was to assess and analyse all of the players from the past. He was injured for three or four months’, the Argentine told the press after the game.

James missed a large percentage of Chelsea’s matches last season through injury so Pochettino will now surely be sweating on the scan results in case another significant long-term layoff arises. Injury also saw him miss going to Qatar with his country for the World Cup in December.

He was recently appointed as captain at Stamford Bridge following the departure of César Azpilicueta to La Liga giants Atletico Madrid. Should James be sidelined then vice-captain Ben Chilwell will step up to the position of club captain.

Pochettino has 20-year-old Malo Gusto available to deputise at full-back after the Frenchman returned from his six-month loan spell with Lyon. He signed for £26.3m from the Ligue 1 outfit last January and was immediately loaned back to them.

Chelsea face a tricky second fixture of the new season when they travel to the London Stadium this weekend to play West Ham.