Reece James' injury hell continues! Chelsea right-back suffers ANOTHER hamstring issue before Premier League season begins

According to The Athletic, James felt discomfort in his hamstring during training this week, having been taken off during Chelsea's pre-season friendly against Real Madrid on Tuesday. The issue has been described as 'minor' by sources close to the club despite James having a history of hamstring problems and having surgery at the end of last year.

Chelsea will 'err on the side of caution' with James' recovery due to the skipper already being set to miss the start of the season through suspension. James received his second red card of the campaign in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season, which led to an automatic four-match ban, meaning he will be absent from domestic games until after the international break next month regardless of fitness.

James has missed 82 of Chelsea's 190 Premier League games since making his debut for the club in 2019. He started just five league matches last season and has had no fewer than six hamstring injuries across the past five years.

James' suspension meant that Malo Gusto was always set to start the season at right-back, however the injury to the club captain means he may be unavailable for the Europa Conference League playoffs at the end of August. The game against Bournemouth on September 14th has been earmarked as a potential return to action for James, with Gusto ready to fill in for the Blues in their Premier League opener against Manchester City next week.