Chelsea suffer huge Reece James injury setback ahead of PSG clash

Chelsea captain Reece James looks set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury.

James played the full 90 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle as Liam Rosenior’s were dealt another blow in their hopes of securing Champions League qualification on Saturday.

But the 26-year-old was not pictured in first-team training this morning ahead of the Blues’ Champions League last-16 second leg with Paris Saint-Germain.

According to The Athletic, James is a certainty to miss Tuesday’s night clash at Stamford Bridge and is expected to be out of action for ‘several weeks’ with the muscle problem.

The England right-back, who has been playing in midfield for Chelsea this season, has a long history of injury problems stretching over the course of his career in senior football.

His latest setback will come as a significant blow to Liam Rosenior and Chelsea, who enter a crucial stage of the campaign after what has been a tricky run of results.

Since breaking through at Chelsea, James has missed a total of 136 games for club and country as a result of fitness issues and was forced to sit out the 2022 World Cup due to a knee injury.

The deadline for Thomas Tuchel to name 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 appear to be the standout right-back candidates should James fail to recover in time.

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 relatively injury-free season by his standards this term, missing two matches in January due to a hip problem and three games last month with a minor knock.

More to follow.