Reece James left the England National Team camp and returned to Chelsea FC for what the Football Association designated “assessment on an ongoing issue.”
That “ongoing issue” according to reports, is a minor hamstring injury.
The release goes on to say that the Chelsea medical team will assess the right back as well, so this all could just be very precautionary. But at the same time, given how injury-stricken Reece James has been this season, he could easily miss out on the Blues’ next match, when Premier League play resumes a week from today.
Chelsea will take on Aston Villa Sat April 1, and an “ongoing issue” just means that it’s a chronic problem, and thus manager Graham Potter could rest him next weekend.
Reece James also missed the 2022 World Cup due to a knee injury, and then suffered another knee injury in December which led to his missing another month of action on the club level.
At the international level, he’ll miss the Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine this week, with Gareth Southgate not calling up any replacement player.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
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