Chelsea's James Reece to miss match against Leicester due to hamstring injury, confirms Maresca

London: Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that captain Reece James will miss the Premier League match against Leicester City after suffering a small hamstring complaint and said he will have to assess the fitness of some of the other players. The 24-year-old, sidelined for much of last season due to hamstring surgery aimed at resolving recurring injuries, made his return to action last month. Maresca dismissed fears of an extended absence.

"We have, for sure, just one injured player and that is Reece. Unfortunately, he felt something small and we do not want to take a risk with him at the weekend. He is the only one for sure who is not available for this weekend," Maresca said at the pre-match press conference on Thursday.

"The rest, some of them are better and some of them are a doubt, plus we need to wait because today is the first session we do with all of the players from international duty so we will see after today’s session," he said. "It is his hamstring with Reece, so a muscle problem. We don’t want to take any risk with this weekend so hopefully it is not something long," he added.

Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill were two of the players who had to withdraw from international duty over the last two weeks, with Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto and Filip Jorgensen others who were unable to feature for their countries having initially been called up.

Maresca was asked specifically about Colwill and Palmer and explained he hadn't been part of any conversations with the England set-up. "To be honest, after we played Arsenal I left for one week (on holiday) so I don't know about the conversations between the club and the international teams," Maresca said.

When asked if Palmer and Colwill were ok, the head coach added: "As I said, some of them are better, some we will test today. But overall, for sure, they are much better."

Chelsea's talented squad includes the likes of Argentina's Enzo Fernandez and Ecuador's Moises Caicedo, who travelled to South America for World Cup qualifiers and will take part in their first Chelsea training session since returning to England this afternoon.

Maresca explained how such journeys will inevitably have an impact on their fitness levels and bodies, saying: "For sure, the ones that are going to play (against Leicester) are not going to be 100 per cent because they are human beings and when you play two games in South America and you have to play again, even if you are 20 to 25 years old, it doesn't matter and you are tired because you are a human being. But hopefully, we can find the right balance (in our midfield)."