Reece James is in a race against time to be fit for Chelsea vs Arsenal
According to Football.London, Reece James is currently nursing a hamstring injury and is hoping to return for Chelsea against Arsenal on October 21 at Stamford Bridge.
The right-back suffered a hamstring injury in Chelsea’s opening Premier League game against Liverpool and is currently recuperating, but there are hopes that he could be fit to face the Gunners.
It is revealed that it’s too early to determine, but the Blues captain is progressing well with his rehabilitation at Cobham, and it remains to be seen if he can make it in time.
James endured an injury-prone season last campaign when he picked up a knee injury before the FIFA 2022 World Cup. Another setback before the start of the new season has raised concern over his fitness.
He served a one-match ban after swearing at the referee in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa. Malo Gusto replaced James and will be hoping to start against Arsenal, but Mauricio Pochettino will make the call given Marc Cucurella has also played well as a right-back recently.
Malo Gusto took James’ spot and is aiming to start against Arsenal. However, Gusto missed Chelsea’s last three games through suspension after being shown a red card against Aston Villa.
Even if Reece James returns, he is unlikely to start the game given that he has missed plenty of matches and won’t be in his best form to start the game against an in-form Arsenal. We certainly don’t want to rush him back considering his injury history.
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He might be used as a substitute, but Pochettino will likely start either Gusto or Cucurella at right-back due to their tremendous performances. Given that Gusto has impressed since James’ absence, Pochettino will have a difficult decision to make regarding the position, but Gusto should be a perfect starter.
