Chelsea new boss Enzo Maresca has said that right-back Reece James has still not recovered from his injury. So he has been ruled out of the UEFA Europa Conference League play-off first leg at Stamford Bridge on Thursday (August 22).
James, 24, has 20 goals and 39 assists in 283 games across competitions for the Blues since his first-team debut in the 2019-20 season. However, he played just 11 games last season due to injury, assisting twice.
Following a thigh injury suffered in pre-season, the Englishman is set to miss the first few weeks of the new season despite being included in the 22-man squad. Maresca provided an update on his captain in a press conference (as per Football London):
“He is still injured. He is on the list, but he cannot play tomorrow.”
About who will captain the side, the Italian boss said:
“Reece is the captain. Then we have three or four more captains, like Enzo. I am thinking to nominate one or two more captains to give them more responsibility. One of the guys could be Levi.”
Maresca commenced his Stamford Bridge tenure with a 2-0 home defeat to four-time defending champions Manchester City in their Premier League opener at the weekend. Erling Haaland and former Blues man Mateo Kovacic scored either side of the break for Pep Guardiola’s side.
“Sometimes you need to sell your academy players” – Chelsea boss on Conor Gallagher sale
Enzo Maresca also shared his thoughts on the sale of academy player Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid this summer. The Englishman has departed Stamford Bridge on a reported £33 million deal, as per the BBC.
Having come up through the ranks at Chelsea’s academy, the Euro 2024 finalist played 90 games for the Blues across competitions, scoring 10 times. However, he was deemed surplus to requirements after reportedly rejecting multiple extension offers from the club.
Explaining the sale of an academy player like Gallagher, Maresca said in the aforementioned press conference:
“Many clubs are selling players from academies. I mentioned the other day, we have Totti with Roma for 20 years, we all love that. But the rules are a bit different, and sometimes you need to sell your academy players for 100%. This is the situation.”
Gallagher was one of the better players for the Blues last season under Mauricio Pochettino, with the 24-year-old contributing seven goals and nine assists in 50 games across competitions.
