Mauricio Pochettino suggests Chelsea’s Reece James won’t be in the matchday squad to face Fulham on Monday night.
However, it sounds like the Blues club captain is on the verge of returning from injury.
Chelsea make the short trip across London on Monday to face Fulham in the Premier League, with both teams fresh off the back of Carabao Cup victories in midweek.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has shared in his pre-match press conference that Reece James, 23, is set to miss the Fulham clash.
However, the right-back could be back from injury for the league trip to Burnley on 7 October, which is the final game before the international break.
Pochettino commented on Jams via Chelsea’s YouTube channel: “For Monday? I don’t believe. Maybe the week after, we’ll see. We need to assess him.”
James hasn’t featured since the opening day of the Premier League, with his hamstring problem keeping him on the sidelines.
It’s been extremely frustrating to see him in the stands, but Malo Gusto has provided a great deputy. That was until he was sent off in last weekend’s league defeat to Aston Villa, so is now serving a suspension.
Mail Online reports that James is expected to accept an imminent ban from the FA for confronting referee Jarred Gillett in the Stamford Bridge tunnel after the Villa loss. A suspension could even be handed out as punishment depending on the hearing.
We know just how influential James can be on the pitch for this Chelsea side when he’s fit and firing, so hopefully that’ll be in the near future as the team prepares to enter a very tough run of fixtures.
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