Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has admitted that he may not be able to call upon Reece James for Wednesday's Premier League fixture against Leeds United.
On Sunday, the Blues defied a first-half sending off for Moises Caicedo to earn a 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
Deployed in central midfield rather than at right-back, James produced his second outstanding performance in succession having also been influential versus Barcelona five days earlier.
James has made 12 starts and five substitute outings in all competitions in 2025-26, featuring far more consistently than he has done for a number of years.
Nevertheless, Maresca has conceded that the club captain's game time will need to be managed if he is to feature against Leeds at Elland Road.
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"The reality is no"
When addressing whether he would be tempted to rely on James for a similar industrious display in the engine room in Yorkshire, Maresca replied to reporters: "No, No, the reality is no".
He added: "Reece, now, his performance has been fantastic, top. Now, we have a game on Wednesday. For him, very good.
"We need to manage him, we need to control him, we need to control a little bit his situation. But he was very good tonight."
How will Chelsea approach Leeds game?
There is a realistic possibility that Chelsea will line up with a different central-midfield two against Leeds than against Arsenal.
The likelihood is that Andrey Santos will act as a straight alternative to Caicedo as the number six, with Enzo Fernandez dropping into the number eight role.
With Fernandez completing the 90 minutes on three occasions between November 22 and November 30, there is the possibility of the Argentine and James playing 45 minutes each.
Joao Pedro may feature as the number 10, with Liam Delap being recalled as the central striker.
As a result of Dario Essugo only returning to training last week and Romeo Lavia being ruled out until the middle of December at the earliest, Maresca's options are limited to a certain degree.
While Malo Gusto is another alternative in the engine room, he is likely to remain at right-back if his own fitness is not managed.