Chelsea full-back Reece James suffered an ankle injury during the Manchester City defeat on Saturday, confirmed Thomas Tuchel in his post-match remarks to Sky Sports.
The player had to be withdrawn from the pitch in the first half and was replaced by the veteran central defender Thiago Silva with Cesar Azpilicueta slotting in the wing-back role vacated by James.
A collision with his fellow England international Jack Grealish caused the injury for the Chelsea man who left the Stamford Bridge pitch in pain with just 29 minutes on the clock.
Tuchel revealed that the injury had been a painful one for James but will have to be further evaluated to determine whether the player will be in the fray for next week’s Champions League game.
“He twisted his ankle and it was very painful for him. I have no other news on him at this stage but let’s see how he is in the next few days.”
The Blues fell to a first defeat of the new season with the visitors to Stamford Bridge Manchester City secured the three points with Gabriel Jesus the scorer early on in the second half.
Chelsea now have a tough test awaiting them in the Champions League with Thomas Tuchel’s men set for a game against Juventus away from home on Wednesday night.
