Reece James' injury nightmare continues as the Chelsea star is expected to be out of action until at least February after a fresh hamstring blow.
Chelsea captain, Reece James is set for another spell on the sidelines after Chelsea confirmed he suffered a hamstring injury in the weekend’s defeat to Everton.
The 24-year-old was taken off after 26 minutes of the match at Goodison Park, being his first start since November 25 and only his fifth of the season in the Premier League campaign.
This comes after a series of several recurring hamstring injuries that has occurred over the past three seasons, hence, collating only 24 Premier League starts since the beginning of the last season.
A Chelsea statement read: “Captain Reece James has undergone medical assessment following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Everton.”
“The defender was withdrawn during the first half at Goodison Park, and scan results have confirmed a hamstring injury.”
“Reece will now begin his rehabilitation programme at Cobham.”
Mauricio Pochettino had hoped his fitness regime would help James cure his hamstring problems without surgical intervention, but the right-back is now seeking external help after having suffered a pulled hamstring twice last season, including once in the Champions League defeat at home to Real Madrid when he continued to play on knowing he had hurt the muscle.
James also last year missed the World Cup in Qatar due to knee ligament damage and was re-injured just 60 minutes into his return in a match against Bournemouth in December.
With the Blues already without Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku, Trevor Chalobah, Malo Gusto and Carney Chukwuemeka, among others.
They face four Premier League matches before the end of the calendar year against Sheffield United (Saturday, December 16), Wolves (Sunday, December 24), Crystal Palace (Wednesday, December 27) and Luton (Saturday, December 30), as well as taking on Newcastle in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, December 19.
