Thomas Tuchel came to the press conference today and gave us the news that Reece James had picked up a muscle injury on his return to the team.
He didn’t have many more details, but seemed pessimistic.
Now, later in the day, The Athletic have a very specific report that it’s going to be four games. The next two we should be able to handle without him, as we take on Norwich and then Newcastle.
We then travel to Lille in the Champions League, before next weekend’s FA Cup quarter final against Middlesbrough.
There are worse runs to miss, but given how badly we’ve missed him in his two months out, it’s a pity to lose him instantly again.
The only consolatory news is that Cesar Azpilicueta is fit and has been training again after a couple of games out himself. He can fill in for James – but he certainly can’t replace him.
