Liam Rosenior offers Chelsea injury update after James omission & Santos sub vs Wolves
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Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior has provided a fitness update on Reece James following the defender's absence in Saturday's 3-1 win over Wolves.
James has now missed two consecutive games, having also missed Chelsea's previous game against Arsenal, due to a minor problem, which Rosenior previously described as a small knock.
Pedro Neto, who had a similar issue, returned to the starting line-up against Wolves, so James' omission from the trip to Molineux raised some questions.
Chelsea managed without the club captain as Cole Palmer's hat-trick in the first-half ensured the Blues clinched a fourth consecutive win in the league.
Fortunately for Chelsea, Rosenior confirmed James is expected to return to the squad for Tuesday night's clash against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge.
"He's so close," Rosenior said when asked about James' fitness situation during his post-match press conference.
"He should be fit for Tuesday. It's not a major problem at all. It's a knock. It's a pain management issue.
"He was doing running yesterday (Friday)."
Rosenior surprisingly deployed all his available midfield options, Andrey Santos, Enzo Fernandez, and Moises Caicedo in this game, leaving no natural midfield back-up on the bench.
It almost went smoothly until Andrey Santos was forced off with what appeared to be a knock to the ankle in the 84th minute and was replaced by Jorrel Hato. It is likely the change was precautionary, and Chelsea will hope it is only minor and Santos is available for Leeds.
Any further injuries in the midfield would obviously be a blow for Chelsea, who are already missing Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.