The Blues are still without a group of first team stars ahead of pre-season whilst Reece James fears emerge ahead of travelling to America....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Chelsea have been handed a pre-season injury scare with Reece James having a precautionary scan on his knee just one week before the club head out to USA for their tour, football.london understands.
With Mauricio Pochettino preparing to take the squad away ahead of matches against Wrexham, Manchester United and Brighton, amongst others, James is being looked after following two seasons of fitness struggles.
The 23-year-old missed the final seven games of the 2022/23 campaign having been ruled out for prolonged stretches in October and the New Year with hamstring a knee troubles.
James was also out for long period of the 2021/22 season with hamstring and knee issues and his fitness has become a cause for concern as his importance to the team remains.
He is one of the contenders to become the new club captain after Cesar Azpilicueta’s departure and is set to have a key role in the side under Pochettino moving forward.
The tests on James are expected to be positive but the decision to scan before the trip to America was taken after he raised awareness of pain following the return to training this week.
Elsewhere in the squad, Armando Broja is training on the grass once more as he looks to recover after his own lengthy setback last year. The 21-year-old remains a doubt for matches but will target the early stages of the new season.
Benoit Badiashile is also coming on well after his own lay-off towards the back end of last term. He is another not expected to feature in games but looking to build up sharpness after August. The Frenchman was ruled out for around four months back in May.
Pochettino is otherwise working with a close to fully fit group. Not all players are yet to return to the Surrey-based training centre, Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke are having time off following the European Championship success with England Under-21s whilst Mykhailo Mudryk is also still away.
Christopher Nkunku is yet to train with his teammates but is doing work elsewhere ahead of his arrival for the tour of USA. Hakim Ziyech, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku have been granted extra time away to finalise transfers out of the club but are expected to return on July 17.
The full squad of players currently training is as follows, with those suffering from injury worries marked in bold.
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Marcus Bettinelli, Eddie Beach, Ted Curd
Defenders: Thiago Silva, Reece James, Malo Gusto, Alfie Gilchrist, Bashir Humphreys, Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Lewis Hall, Ian Maatsen, Trevoh Chalobah, Ethan Ampadu.
Midfielders: Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, Andrey Santos, Cesare Casadei, Carney Chukwuemeka.
Attackers: Nicolas Jackson, Raheem Sterling, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Omari Hutchinson, Armando Broja.
Holiday/extended leave : Levi Colwill, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk, Christopher Nkunku, Hakim Ziyech, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Romelu Lukaku….READFULL
