Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Reece James is facing a spell on the sidelines after the Chelsea captain sustained a hamstring injury.
James struggled with fitness problems last season and Chelsea have now revealed that the defender has suffered a fresh problem, revealing that the England right-back is ‘starting rehabilitation having undergone assessments on an injury sustained in training this week’.
The issue is not thought to be serious, but Pochettino has called the injury to James – who has replaced Cesar Azpilicueta as club captain this season – a ‘sad moment’ as the Blues begin a new era under his leadership.
The news is another blow to Pochettino and Chelsea, who a have already lost Wesley Fofana and summer signing Christopher Nkunku to injuries in recent weeks.
“It’s a sad moment because he is our captain and he was so excited to be a captain and he was full of energy,” Pochettino told a pre-match press conference ahead of Chelsea’s trip to West Ham.
“We are going to asses him day by day and as soon as possible we want him again with the team. For sure he’s going to become stronger than he was because we are going to help him to become stronger than before.”
On the time James is expected to be ruled out for, Pochettino added: “It’s not abut a few days, maybe a few weeks. The good thing is it is not a big issue. The big thing now is to try and anticipate problems and be sure that when he starts to play again he’s fully fit and stronger than he was before.”
