Chelsea dealt DOUBLE injury blow as Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah sustain hamstring issues… with the Blues captain not expected to make a swift return

Chelsea is sweating on the results of scans on Reece James after he suffered a hamstring injury in training.

Captain James is having the injury assessed after noticing the problem during a session on Wednesday and Chelsea hopes to discover the extent of the damage in the next 24 hours.

Right-back James missed the end of last season with a hamstring injury and was forced to sit out Chelsea’s last seven games.

He was fit again for the new season, was named new skipper and started Chelsea’s season opener against Liverpool on Sunday.

James was withdrawn at Stamford Bridge after 76 minutes, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino allayed any initial concerns by insisting his substitution was due to fatigue rather than injury.

Similarly, Chelsea have suffered another injury with Trevoh Chalobah (left) suffering a hamstring strain in training.

It is a blow to Mauricio Pochettino who claimed the substitution was from James because he was ‘tired’

However, James’ fitness has now left Chelsea with a major injury following his setback on the training ground.

James has been a huge miss in recent seasons when injured, with the impact of his absence evident.

Chelsea brought in highly regarded Frenchman Malo Gusto from Lyon for around £30 million to give themselves a genuine alternative to James.

Gusto, who replaced James in the game against Liverpool, joined a deal agreed in January before joining Chelsea permanently for this season.

Meanwhile, Trevoh Chalobah’s injury also comes as quite a blow.

Chalobah, according to the Athletichad “previously contracted a minor hamstring problem” and had “exacerbated the problem during training.”

Chalobah suffered an injury during Chelsea’s pre-season game against Fulham and appears to have exacerbated the problem in training

James (left) had to leave the field on Sunday and handed the captain’s armband to Ben Chilwell (right)

He was absent from the game on Sunday, but played in four of Chelsea’s warm-up games, most notably playing the full 90 minutes against Newcastle, but was taken off with injury after 14 minutes against Fulham.

The 24-year-old is currently being eyed by several clubs across Europe keen to sign the defender, with Inter Milan having long expressed an interest in signing him.

Reports earlier today claimed that Inter Milan are still interested in the centre-back, who completed a six-year contract extension at Stamford Bridge in October last year.

It means he will stay with The Blues until 2028, but The athletic understands that he can be on the sidelines for “about a month.”