Reece James update as Chelsea hit by latest injury blow and two ruled out for Manchester City

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The latest Chelsea news ahead of their Premier League opener against Champions Manchester City.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has admitted that Reece James is likely to be fit in the next couple of weeks but refused to provide an exact timeline. The Chelsea captain has missed a total of 92 games for the club since the 2021/2022 season.

Last season, James underwent hamstring surgery to address a problem that threatened to reduce his power and athleticism, causing him to miss more than half the campaign and the Euros. This summer, he started five pre-season games before missing the last one against Inter Milan due to another hamstring issue.

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He was already set to miss the first three games of the Premier League season, having been sent off in the penultimate game of last season, away at Brighton. Therefore, this latest setback is not a massive blow to Maresca’s plans for the first three league games. However, speaking ahead of the opener against Manchester City, Maresca said his skipper would be back sooner rather than later.

He told reporters: "In terms of injury we have only Reece James out but the rest are all training and are involved.”

Manchester City Injury News

Manchester City also have their injury concerns heading into the game, with youngster Oscar Bobb picking up an ankle injury that will sideline him for at least three months. Additionally, several players, including Rodri, need to build up their minutes. The manager has stated that Rodri will not be involved as he is yet to train with the squad.

It remains to be seen how many minutes the likes of Kyle Walker and Phil Foden will get, as they have only recently returned to the squad following an extended break after helping England reach the final of the Euros.

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