Chelsea captain Reece James is ready to overlook “a few weeks” after injuring his hamstring in coaching this week, Blues supervisor Mauricio Pochettino mentioned Friday. The 23-year-old began in Chelsea’s season-opening 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Sunday earlier than being substituted within the 77th minute. “It’s a sad moment because he’s our captain,” mentioned Pochettino. “He was so excited and full of energy to be our captain. We are going to assess him day by day.

“For certain he will (come again) stronger than he was. It’s just a few weeks.”

England international James’s career has been plagued by injuries. The right-back made just 16 Premier League appearances last season.

James suffered a knee injury in October which ruled him out of England’s 2022 World Cup squad, before he was sidelined for a further four weeks following a recurrence of the problem during his first game back in December.

He also missed the final seven games of Chelsea’s season with a hamstring problem as the Blues finished 12th.

James, who made his Blues debut in 2019 after a season on loan at Wigan, was made captain of the west-London club in pre-season after fellow defender Cesar Azpilicueta left Stamford Bridge.

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