Chelsea have suffered another injury blow, as Reece James has been withdrawn from the England national team.
The 25-year-old ranked through the Blues’ youth system before making his first team debut back in 2019. He displayed glimpses of his high potential during the early stages of his career and was deemed one of the best young talents in the Premier League.
However, injury problems have hampered his development, failing to stay fit for a whole season in his career so far. James has been featuring regularly under Enzo Maresca this season, making nine appearances in the Premier League and Champions League.
After starting to play regularly in recent months, he managed to regain his spot in the England national team and was called up for the Three Lions squad in the October international fixtures.
However, James, valued at around £26m by Transfermarkt, picked up an injury against Liverpool last weekend; as a result, he has been withdrawn from the national team. In place of him, Nico O’Reilly of Manchester City has received the call-up.
The West London club have been plagued with injury problems at the back during the early stages of this season. Levi Colwill has picked up a serious knee issue and is set to remain sidelined for the entirety of this season.
Chelsea suffer fresh injury blow
On the other hand, Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo have sustained injuries recently and are expected to remain sidelined over the coming weeks.
Moreover, Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong picked up injuries against Liverpool last time out. Meaning, Maresca has been left with a very thin defensive department.
Not only the defensive department, Chelsea have injury problems in other positions as well, with Liam Delap, Cole Palmer, and Andrey Santos having their respective problems.
Meanwhile, after going without a victory in the last three Premier League games, Chelsea returned to winning ways by defeating Liverpool courtesy of Estevao Willian’s late goal last weekend.
So, the West London club have entered the international break on a positive note and will return to action with a trip to the City Ground in the Premier League on 18th October.
