Pochettino confirms injury to Reece James, missing 'a few weeks'

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that his club captain, Reece James, will miss “a few weeks” of action due to injury. James was substituted off of the pitch during a Premier League matchup last weekend against Liverpool. However, the coach claimed that the England international was just tired. Now, Reece suffered the familiar setback during a training session this week.

“It is a sad moment because he’s our captain and he was so excited to be our captain and he was full of energy,” Pochettino stated during a press conference on Friday.

“We are going to assess him day by day. For sure he wants to be again with the team as soon as possible and for sure he’s going to become stronger than he was, because, with all the effort of the club, we are going to help him to become stronger than before.”

Coach confirms extent of injury to Reece James

‘It’s a hamstring injury. It’s not about a few days, maybe a few weeks,” the coach continued. “The good thing is it’s not a big issue, but the most important thing now is to work really hard to try to anticipate problems and to be sure that when he starts to play again he is fully fit and stronger than he was before. That is the most important thing. That is why we are going to assess him day by day and try to make the plan every day.”

England international has missed 80 total games for club

James has had an unfortunate injury history during his time at Chelsea. In fact, the highly rated full-back has missed a total of 80 matches with the club since the summer of 2019. Although he has been sidelined with various injuries, the defender has had multiple hamstring issues. The latest setback is the fifth time since the end of 2021 that James has suffered a hamstring injury.

When healthy, James is one of the top right-backs in all the Premier League. Nevertheless, it seems as if the star will not return to the pitch until at least after the international break in September. Newly acquired defender Malo Gusto will now most likely fill in for James at the right-back position. The France U21 international was purchased back in January for around $32 million.

PHOTO: IMAGO / PRiME Media Images