Chelsea captain Reece James has suffered a hamstring injury and appears set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
James played the complete 90 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle as Liam Rosenior’s side were dealt one other blow of their hopes of securing a top-five finish on Saturday.
However the 26-year-old felt some discomfort in his hamstring within the closing stages of the match and was not pictured in first-team training this morning.
Facing the media this afternoon, ahead of Chelsea’s Champions League last-16 second leg with Paris Saint-Germain, Rosenior confirmed that James was a certainty to miss the clash.
Malo Gusto (illness) and Filip Jorgensen (groin) are also doubts to feature at Stamford Bridge after missing today’s training session at Cobham.
In response to The Athletic, sources at Chelsea have indicated that James is anticipated to be out of motion for ‘several weeks’ with the muscle problem.
The England right-back, who has been playing in midfield for Chelsea this season, has a protracted history of injury troubles stretching over the course of his profession in senior football.
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His latest setback will come as a big blow to Chelsea, who enter a vital stage of the campaign after what has been a difficult run of results.
Asked for an update on James’ condition this afternoon, Rosenior told reporters: ‘He’s felt something in his hamstring at the tip of the Newcastle game.
‘We don’t know the complete extent of the injury, but he will probably be out for tomorrow’s game [against PSG].
‘It could possibly be [serious]. With a hamstring injury, it’s never great.
‘Hopefully we are able to get him scanned and discover the complete extent.
‘Any player at any time, when you feel something, you’re going to be nervous about it. It was towards the tip of the sport.’
On Gusto’s absence from training, Rosenior explained: ‘Malo is ailing today, so we’ll take a look at that tomorrow.
‘With Filip [Jorgsensen], he’s felt something in his groin and we are going to get him scanned.’
Since breaking through at Chelsea, James has missed a complete of 136 games for club and country consequently of fitness issues and was forced to sit down out the 2022 World Cup resulting from a knee injury.
The deadline for Thomas Tuchel to call his final England squad for this summer’s World Cup is May 30.
Following Kieran Trippier’s retirement from international duty, the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Tino Livramento and Ezri Konsa look like the standout right-back candidates should James fail to get well in time.
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Arsenal full-back Ben White, meanwhile, has not featured for the Three Lions since his fallout with coaching staff under Gareth Southgate back in 2022.
James has enjoyed a comparatively injury-free season by his standards this term, missing two matches in January resulting from a hip problem and three games last month with a minor knock.
Chelsea team-mates Marc Cucurella, Estevao and Jamie Gittens have also been out for spells with hamstring injuries this season.
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