Reece James missed out against Wolves.placeholder image
Reece James missed out against Wolves. | Getty Images
Liam Rosenior provided an update on the fitness of Reece James after the versatile defender missed out against Leeds United.
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior will look to make it five wins in his first five Premier League matches in charge of the Blues when Leeds United visit Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
The race for European football is hotting up as Manchester United pick up the pace under Michael Carrick, while outsiders Brentford and Everton also closed the gap on the top six with wins at the weekend.
Daniel Farke’s side will travel to London buoyed by their own victory over Nottingham Forest on Friday night. The Whites are beginning to clamber up the table as they look to avoid a relegation fight come the end of the campaign. Here’s your team news.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior said that Reece James was ‘so close’ to being available to face Wolves on Saturday. The 26-year-old was absent from the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Arsenal last Tuesday having played just nine minutes against West Ham in the match prior.
James didn’t even make the squad at Molineux but Rosenior played down the problem in his post-match press conference and was hopeful that the player would be fit to face Leeds United at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Rosenior said: “Reece is so close and should be fit for Tuesday. At the moment, with the games we have, everything is being taken day by day. He's really, really close – there's no major problem at all – and it would be great to have him available for Tuesday.
“It's a pain management issue and to be honest, Reece was out running [at Cobham] yesterday. But it just wasn't right. Again, we're in the midst of a really, really difficult period of games, because of the number of games that we've got. Hopefully, he comes back fully fit and fully rested for Tuesday.”
Pedro Neto was also said to be nursing a knock ahead of the trip to Wolves but was named in the starting XI and played the full 90 minutes. Jamie Gittens was absent again, having been out of action against Arsenal.
The former Borussia Dortmund man limped off in the comeback win over West Ham and appears to have a hamstring problem that could take some time. Rosenior previously said: "Jamie unfortunately felt his hamstring. I don't know the extent of the injury.
“It's a real shame for him because I wanted to give him a start, and I wanted him to show what he could do. so for him to come off after 25 minutes is disappointing for him and hopefully it's not too bad."
Filip Jorgensen was touch-and-go ahead of the Wolves match but ended up missing out. He could be back on the bench against Leeds United. It was also teased that Tosin Adarabioyo could return at Molineux after he was running in training following a hamstring injury, but also did not make the squad. Andrey Santos appeared to pick up a knock to his ankle in the closing stages against Wolves but it is unknown how serious that is.
Dario Essugo and Levi Colwill remain longer term absentees. Romeo Lavia should be back before that duo but Leeds United will likely come too soon.
Doubts - Reece James, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Filip Jorgensen, Tosin Adarabioyo. Outs - Dario Essugo, Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia.
Leeds United team news
Leeds United were boosted by the return of four first team players to their side for the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest on Friday night. James Justin and Dan James saw minutes in that game with Jaka Bijol and Lukas Nmecha named on the bench.
The only concern for Daniel Farke appears to be midfielder Anton Stach. The 27-year-old came off in the final 10 minutes against Arsenal at the end of January with a problem. Farke said: “The only negative news is Anton Stach is struggling with some hip problems after the last game day and it looks like he’s likely to miss the game on Friday and also the Chelsea game.
“Definitely not good news with him because he’s obviously an important player for us. It’s probably a situation of probably being out for 10 to 14 days at least. That is what the doctor says at the moment.”
Out - Anton Stach
In other news, Chelsea's next five Premier League games compared to Liverpool and Man United as Champions League race heats up.
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