Chelsea bested the Craven Cottagers, in a Fulham Road derby Premier League fixture on the weekend. Now we’ll see if this leads to some consistency or not. In a week from today, they’ll take on Middlesbrough in an EFL Cup semifinal tie second leg. They are down 0-1 to the Bro on aggregate from the first leg. In the meantime, let’s go through that very long Chelsea injury list, in two separate articles. Here we focus on Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Lesley Ugochukwu.
In the first post, we got you up to speed on Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Robert Sanchez. Let’s dive right in, starting with the team captain.
James
What a horribly unfortunate 2022-24 the English right back is having. After just finally feeling good again, and completing his comeback, look what happened! The Chelsea skipper suffered a hamstring injury that required surgical repair. We may not see him again until, at best, mid-April. However, Reece James could be absent until perhaps as long as May.
Cucurella
The Spaniard suffered an ankle injury in the 2-0 loss at Goodison Park on December 10. It’s a bummer, as he was just getting himself back into the good graces of first team selection at the time. Like James, he needed surgery to repair the injury, and thus, we won’t see him again until springtime.
Ugochukwu
The timeline for return, in regards to the very seldomly used midfielder, is unknown. He has been dealing with a chronic hamstring injury, which most recently flared up in the Christmas Eve loss to Wolves. What a terrible Christmas present that was! We may not see him again until March. Also, it’s worth noting that Chelsea will take on Aston Villa, in the other domestic cup competition, just three days after they take on the Bro.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.