Chelsea have been dealt a major injury blow after Liam Rosenior confirmed Reece James suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend’s clash against Newcastle United.
James, who recently signed a six-year contract extension, has largely stayed injury-free this season after being carefully managed by Chelsea following several disrupted campaigns.
However, the England international now appears to have suffered what looks like his 10th hamstring setback since December 2020.
He was absent from an open training session on Monday involving the rest of the Blues squad ahead of their UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg encounter with Paris Saint-Germain.
His absence arrived only two days after the 26-year-old completed the full 90 minutes during the club’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.
No precise recovery timeline has been confirmed, but Rosenior suggests it could take a while before he returns to the field.
As a result, the right-back may also be unavailable for England’s upcoming international fixtures later this month, with Thomas Tuchel set to reveal his squad on Friday.
Speaking in his pre-PSG press conference, Chelsea boss Rosenior said:
‘He felt something in his hamstring at the end of the game against Newcastle. It’s really frustrating and a disappointing one for us. We don’t know the full extent for us, but it rules him out for tomorrow.’
Blow
When asked if it could be a serious injury, Rosenior added:
‘It could be [weeks]. With a hamstring injury, it’s never great. And for Reece, hopefully, we can just get him scanned, we can find out the full extent, and then we know more.
‘Because obviously we know what an important player he is, what an important leader he is in the group. He’s our captain.’
James has now suffered 10 separate hamstring injuries since 2020, with the right-back having already missed 136 matches across his professional career because of various fitness and injury problems.
Chelsea and the player have spent the past few seasons carefully managing his minutes to limit physical strain. Before this latest issue, he had been unavailable for only five fixtures during the 2025–26 campaign.
Elsewhere, the Blues are also dealing with absences involving Jamie Gittens, Filip Jorgensen, and Levi Colwill. Meanwhile, fellow right-back Malo Gusto missed the session due to illness, leaving uncertainty over whether he will be fit in time for Tuesday’s encounter with Paris Saint-Germain.
There was some positive news, however, as Brazilian attacker Estevao Willian returned to training and could be in contention.
