80M CHELSEA STAR DEALT BAD NEWS AFTER INJURY WITH RETURN A WHILE OFF
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca could be without an important member of his squad for the foreseeable future, as worrying injury news comes out of Stamford Bridge this week ahead of a crucial run of games.
Chelsea prepare for West Ham clash after win at Bournemouth
The west Londoners are preparing for an English capital derby clash this weekend, as Chelsea travel to West Ham with the hope that they can build upon this promising start to the new Premier League season.
Chelsea given West Ham injury boost as "shining star" returns to training
Enzo Maresca could have him to call upon against the Hammers.
Maresca has guided Chelsea to two wins, a draw and one loss to champions Man City from their opening four top-flight matches, with the Blues putting in some impressive performances in that time.
Chelsea thumped Wolves 6-2 at Molineux three weeks ago, with Joao Felix scoring on his second debut for the club and Noni Madueke bagging a hat-trick in what was an imperious attacking display against Gary O'Neil's side.
They were also very unlucky not to put Crystal Palace to the sword in their 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge before the international break, creating a host of chances and dominating the play, but Eberechi Eze's curled long-range effort denied Maresca all three points.
Chelsea were forced to work hard for their latest 1-0 win against Bournemouth, with Robert Sanchez even saving a penalty from Evanilson, before summer signing Jadon Sancho provided an assist for Christopher Nkunku to nick a victory in the dying minutes.
| Pedro Neto & Jadon Sancho vs Bournemouth | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Neto | Sancho |
| Minutes played | 45 | 45 |
| Touches | 23 | 37 |
| Accurate passes | 10/15 (67%) | 24/26 (92%) |
| Key passes | 1 | 2 |
| Dribbles completed | 0/1 | 2/4 |
| Duels won | 0/3 | 2/4 |
| Possession lost | 9x | 7x |
| Stats via Sofascore |
Malo Gusto missed Bournemouth through injury, as did midfielder Romeo Lavia, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Enzo Fernandez also absent from the Vitality Stadium due to illness.
Maresca was forced to play Axel Disasi at right-back before he was hauled off midway through the second period, and summer signing Renato Veiga was handed his first-ever Chelsea start in midfield.
In a boost for Chelsea, Lavia, Dewsbury-Hall, Fernandez and Gusto are in line to return against West Ham, but the same cannot be said for £250,000-per-week star and captain Reece James.
Reece James dealt bad Chelsea injury news with recovery delayed
Lavia has returned to Chelsea training after overcoming a hamstring problem, but James' comeback from the same issue is set to be prolonged.
That is according to The Sun, who claim that James' hamstring recovery has been delayed at Chelsea, with Cobham medics putting his return to the field on hold due to the England international not healing as well as expected.
There is no timeframe on his latest injury, which will surely frustrate the £80 million rated star following a nightmare run of hamstring problems in the last two years. James has missed 69 games for Chelsea since the beginning of 2022/2023, all through injury, and that will surely be a real cause of concern for club chiefs.
2024-09-18T22:55:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd