Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Reece James will miss the Premier League showdown against Leicester City this weekend.
The Blues are set to face the Foxes in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, with Maresca making his return to King Power Stadium for the first time since leaving the club to join Chelsea as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor.
It’s been a strong start for the Italian in west London, with Chelsea currently sitting third in the Premier League.
However, ahead of Saturday’s match, Maresca revealed during his pre-match press conference on Thursday that Reece James has suffered a hamstring injury and will be unavailable for the game.
Maresca said: “We have just one injured player, that is Reece. Unfortunately, he felt something small and we don’t want to take any risks for the weekend.”
The Italian added: “Hamstring. It’s a muscular problem. We don’t want to take any risks for this weekend. Hopefully it’s not something long.”
It’s a major setback for James, who was seen training with the Chelsea squad earlier this week.
The Blues captain has featured just four times this season, playing a total of 241 minutes in the Premier League.
Maresca confirmed that James sustained the injury on Tuesday, although the Chelsea manager is uncertain about how long the 24-year-old will be out of action.
“He felt something, he has to be out. For sure, this weekend and then we’ll see. We don’t know for how long,” Maresca said.
“He has to try and avoid as much as he can but sometimes things happen even if you want to avoid that. Hopefully he can be available for the next one but he is not available for this one.”
James has already missed a significant portion of the season due to a hamstring injury, and it remains uncertain whether he will be available for Chelsea’s next Premier League match against Aston Villa on Sunday, December 1
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