Chelsea: Liam Rosenior updates Reece James injury timeline as three stars back in training | OneFootball

Blues to be without captain for huge Manchester City clash

Liam Rosenior has revealed Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah and Levi Colwill will all miss out as Chelsea host Manchester City this weekend, though they will be fit and available in the ‘next few weeks’.

Three points would be hugely valuable in the race for a Champions League berth, and could send them as high as fifth in the table.

Chelsea will be somewhat handicapped as they chase that win, with both club captain James, who has a hamstring injury, and stalwart centre-back Chalobah sidelined. Colwill, meanwhile, is back in full-team training having recovered from ACL surgery, but he is not yet match fit.

But both are back on the grass and are expected to be available in the coming weeks.

Rosenior said: “Trevoh (Chalobah) is working really, really hard. He is back on the pitch.

“Levi (Colwill) is in full training but still needs to overcome some hurdles in terms of selection.

“Reece has been running today, which is great, but no, I’ve got a good squad and we’re ready to go and take on Man City.”

Enzo Fernandez will miss out, too, as he remains suspended due to comments made during the international break.

Rosenior continued, insisting his Chelsea were capable of beating City even without Fernandez and his injured squadmates.

“I've got an outstanding squad, full of outstanding players. It's still a very difficult team to pick in terms of the starting eleven. I need to get that right in the coming days.”

He also added that he was grateful to have had extra time to work with his players in the past week, reiterating previous comments that January was a difficult time to take over a team.

“It's the first time since I've been here that I've had two training days in a row. I don't think a magician can make the team look how I want it to in the time I've had so far.

“Any manager that comes in January - you have 20 games in 10 weeks. You're trying to get to know players, you try to make evaluations. It's difficult for anyone. For me, it's using the time as best as we can.

“I know what I want the team to look like. It may take time but it cannot be at the expense of fulfilling short-term objectives.”