Chelsea captain Reece James may have already revealed reason why he pulled out of international duty

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Chelsea fans collectively took a deep breath of worry when news regarding their club captain broke on Monday morning.

The club confirmed that Reece James had pulled out of international duty due to an injury suffered in their 2-1 win against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

There was cause for concern for a number of reasons. The skipper had recently been excelling in a number of positions for Enzo Maresca’s side on the pitch.

As well as this, his well-documented bad luck with injuries in recent years will no doubt have left some worrying that he could be set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines.

Potential reason why Reece James has pulled out of international duty

James finished the game against Liverpool, albeit at centre-back with no real options left to replace him, however didn’t seem to pull up with any real concern.

In the Englishman’s post on Instagram though, he revealed that he had suffered a nasty gash on his leg, likely from the stud of an opposition player.

This could point to the decision being made as a precaution, especially with the importance of England’s fixtures being far lower for these games.

Thomas Tuchel was in attendance at Stamford Bridge, and with Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Levi Colwill not on display, his eyes would have likely been locked on James’ performance

James proving crucial for Tuchel

There are plenty of choices for who will play right-back for England at the 2026 World Cup, but it looks like James is ahead of the chasing pack at the moment.

Tuchel started James in both of England’s games during the last break, something which will have frustrated Maresca as he continues to manage his minutes in West London.

There is no confirmation as of yet of the severity of the injury suffered by James, although the hope will be that it is nothing serious.

We await further updates on the situation, with fingers crossed that James will be available when the Blues return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest after the break.