Chelsea handed double injury blow ahead of Arsenal game

Chelsea are reportedly likely to be missing Reece James and Carney Chukwuemeka for the Premier League meeting with Arsenal on Saturday.
Mauricio Pochettino would not have wanted the October international break to arrive with the Blues having recorded three successive wins in all competitions.

After edging out Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup, victories over Fulham and Burnley on away territory were posted in the top flight.

Pochettino had been aided by the return of a number of players from injuries, and more are in line to come back into contention for the London derby with the Gunners.

James and Chukwuemeka had each been among that crop of squad members pushing to be involved against Mikel Arteta’s side, who sit in second position in the standings.

At a press conference two weeks ago, Pochettino acknowledged that the duo had make significant progress in their recoveries from hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

However, according to Nathan Gissing, who writes for the website of Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, James and Chukwuemeka have both suffered setbacks since Pochettino last spoke to the media.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Gissing says that James sustained another injury 10 days ago and has subsequently had to miss team training.

While a scan revealed no significant damage, the England international has since been training alone, making him a huge doubt for the clash with the club’s rivals.

Meanwhile, Chukwuemeka has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in the second game of the season against West Ham United, initially ruling him out for six weeks.

That appeared the correct timeline when he returned to training before the international break and the playmaker was named on the substitutes’ bench for the Burnley fixture on October 7.

Since then, the 19-year-old is said to suffered knee pain again, the indication being that it may be related to the injury suffered at the London Stadium.

Although not confirmed by Chelsea, the likelihood is that no risks will be taken on Chukwuemeka for Saturday’s fixture.