Every game missed by Chelsea star since 2021/22

Reece James is widely considered one of the most talented players in the Premier League, but has seen his body fail him time and time again during his career so far.

After an excellent season with Wigan Athletic on loan, the England international returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2019 with hopes high over his potential future at Stamford Bridge.

He was considered the future of Chelsea’s defence, with the likes of Tino Livramento and Tariq Lamptey both leaving the club to search for first-team football instead of trying to compete with James for a spot in the starting XI.

However, he has had some terrible luck with injuries, being restricted to 162 appearances for the club across five years and missing the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship after failing to prove his fitness.

Also missing the start of the current Premier League season through an ankle injury, he returned to the fold recently before suffering another setback ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Leicester City in late November.

Related

Mason Mount injury history: Every game Man Utd star has missed since 2022

The midfielder hasn’t had much luck.

But how bad have his injuries been? With help from Transfermarkt data, we take a look at every game that the 24-year-old has missed since the start of the 2021/2022 campaign.

Hamstring injury, 12 games missed

December 29, 2021 to February 24, 2022

After a strong start to the 2021/22 campaign from James, it all began to go wrong for him at the turn of the year. A hamstring injury saw him forced off just 27 minutes into a clash with Brighton, and subsequently saw him miss five Premier League games.

Alongside those, James also missed Chelsea’s

Club World Cup
success and four cup games, though his side managed to win all four in his absence. He was also forced to watch on as Chelsea entered the Champions League knockout stages, beating Lille 2-0 in their last-16 first-leg clash.

But he returned to action at the beginning of March, featuring in the FA Cup against Luton Town and in the Premier League against Burnley, where he played 70 minutes. Then, disaster struck again.

Muscle injury, 4 games missed

March 3, 2022 to March 21, 2022

Immediately after the Burnley win, James was once again sidelined through a muscle injury, likely a recurrence of his hamstring issue. His absence was just four games this time around.

The Chelsea defender watched on from the stands as his side faced their second-leg clash with Lille, a pair of Premier League games against Norwich and Newcastle United, and an FA Cup quarter-final tie with Middlesbrough, once again winning each time.

Related

Todd Boehly’s worst transfers at Chelsea… so far

There are plenty to choose from, but who has been Boehly’s biggest mistake at Stamford Bridge?

Hamstring injury, 1 game missed

April 21, 2022 to April 28, 2022

James missed just one more game that season, pulling out of a clash with West Ham United thanks to a troublesome hamstring once more, but he completed the season strongly and looked to have recovered from his injury concerns.

He again began the new campaign strongly, starting six of Chelsea’s first seven Premier League games in 2022/23, only for injury woes to strike once more in the Champions League.

Knee injury, 9 games missed

October 11, 2022 to December 12, 2022

Forced off against Milan an hour into their Champions League group game, it emerged that James had suffered a knee injury, something that would sideline him for two months and eventually rule him out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the 2022 World Cup, which took place that winter.

It was a blow to James but also Chelsea, who were without their talisman defender for nine games. Of those games, they won just three, and just one in the Premier League as their early-season form dropped off a cliff at the hands of Newcastle, Arsenal and Brighton.

They were also knocked out of the EFL Cup by Manchester City before the Premier League halted for the World Cup. But that wasn’t the end of James’ problems.

Knee injury, 6 games missed

December 27, 2022 to January 31, 2023

Returning between Christmas and New Year, James’ recovery lasted just 53 minutes as he picked up another knee injury in the first post-World Cup clash against Bournemouth, sidelining him once more.

It was less serious this time around, with the Chelsea defender missing just six games, though again his side struggled in his absence. They exited the FA Cup – once more at the hands of Manchester City – and won just one of their five Premier League games without him in the starting XI.

However, it seemed as though his knee problems were behind him as he returned to the setup in February 2023.

Injury and illness, 2 games missed

March 1, 2023 to March 15, 2023

A hamstring flare-up saw Reece James miss Chelsea’s Premier League game against Leeds United in March 2023, before returning as they turned around a first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. However, he would then miss out on their trip to Leicester the following weekend due to illness.

Hamstring injury, 7 games missed

April 25, 2023 to May 31, 2023

With Chelsea sacking Graham Potter and welcoming back Frank Lampard to the club, James missed most of the former midfielder’s second spell in charge after picking up yet another hamstring injury. It came following the Blues’ Champions League exit to Real Madrid in April 2023.

He completed 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge but didn’t feature again for the Blues that season, missing the final seven games of the campaign and watching as his side won just once to finish in mid-table.

Hamstring injury, 8 games missed

August 13, 2023 to October 6, 2023

Named club captain by incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino, hopes were high around James after he enjoyed a strong pre-season, but those hopes lasted just 73 Premier League minutes before he was forced off in their opening-day clash with Liverpool, a game his side went on to draw.

Once again, it was his hamstring causing him problems, and the defender was sidelined for a significant period of the season. The Chelsea man missed a total of nine successive games, including six Premier League outings and EFL Cup clashes with Brighton and AFC Wimbledon.

After serving a brief suspension, he returned in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal and appeared to have shaken off any issues in the months that followed. However, disaster struck in December for the defender and Chelsea.

Hamstring surgery, 29 games missed

December 11, 2023 to May 10, 2024

26 minutes into a clash with Everton at Goodison Park, Reece James’ season was effectively ended. The defender was substituted early on during his side’s 3-0 defeat after the recurrence of a hamstring injury, and the club and player made the decision for him to undergo surgery in an attempt to fix the issue.

It was just the second time he had started a game for Chelsea since his last injury, but his fifth hamstring injury in 18 months eventually persuaded him to seek medical assistance in a bid to end his problems once and for all.

“The footballing world knew I got injured but the procedure I would go down this time took slightly longer to figure out the best solution,” James wrote on his Instagram.

“I had surgery today to try fix my reoccurring hamstring issue, the recovery has started, both physically and mentally.”

Though Pochettino was keen not to put a timeframe on his recovery, James didn’t return to action until the third-last game of the season, before being sent off in the penultimate game and missing the final clash of the Argentinian’s reign through suspension.

Hamstring injury, 11 games missed

August 9, 2024 to October 14, 2024

Despite undergoing surgery in a bid to fix his hamstring issue, James was once again sidelined with hamstring problems at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign as the defender was sidelined during pre-season training, summing up his woeful misfortune on the injury front.

He was still serving a suspension for his red card at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, but was forced to watch on for another eight games across all competitions as new boss Enzo Maresca made a strong start to his tenure at Stamford Bridge.

Returning to action after the November international break against Liverpool, James started two more games for Chelsea and came on as a late substitute against Arsenal before his latest setback.

Hamstring injury, currently out

November 19, 2024 to present

Maresca confirmed that James would miss Chelsea’s tie against Leicester after the defender suffered a hamstring injury in training, as his fitness struggles continue. How long he will be out for is anyone’s guess, but James is no closer to finding some consistency when it comes to staying injury-free.

He will be hoping that, having lost much of his early career to hamstring issues, he can eventually put these issues firmly behind him and focus on getting back to his best form. Should he manage to string a series of injury-free months together, he will almost certainly warrant a recall to the England national team, now managed by former boss Thomas Tuchel and in need of a right-back.

Still just 24, he is likely to have the best years of his career ahead of him, and Malo Gusto’s impressive performances should help to lighten the load on the Chelsea man, who may be forced to only play once a week in order to keep his body in the correct shape.