Chelsea were without club captain Reece James for their Premier League clash against Leicester City on Sunday.
James impressed in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League victory over Copenhagen on Thursday night, scoring a superb goal in the 2-1 win.
But the 25-year-old was absent for the visit of Leicester to Stamford Bridge just three days later due to illness.
James reported a fever and high temperature to Chelsea’s doctors and was not well enough to feature in Sunday’s clash.
He was one of seven changes Enzo Maresca made from Chelsea’s European commitments in midweek, with Malo Gusto all missing out through injury.
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Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, Tyrique George, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Shim Mheuka all drop to the bench, with Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, Marc Cucurella, Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho and Christopher Nkunku coming into the starting XI.
Chelsea will look to boost their top-four hopes against Maresca’s former side Leicester City, who are second from bottom in the Premier League.
Chelsea have won their last four games against Leicester but have blown hot and cold recently with three league defeats in five matches.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester have lost four games in a row and sit six points from safety ahead of their clash in west London.
Despite missing the game through illness, James could be recalled by England next week when new manager Thomas Tuchel names his first squad since replacing Sir Gareth Southgate.
Ex-Chelsea and England star Joe Cole was full of praise for James after the Copenhagen win and said he wanted to see him back in the Three Lions fold.
James has earned 16 caps since making his England debut in 2020 but none since 2023, mainly due to his reoccurring injury issues, though there is also substantial competition in the right-back position.
‘He will have the respect of every player at Chelsea because of what he can do technically and physically,’ Cole told TNT Sports after the 2-1 win.
‘When he was at his best, he was as good as anyone in the world, no doubt about that. It’s just about him finding his inner peace and managing him into games.
‘He can play in midfield, he did it when he was on loan at Wigan and got Player of the Year there as a young kid. He looks comfortable there.
‘He’s got so much to offer Chelsea and so much to offer England. It’s so great to see him impacting the game like he did tonight.
‘Don’t give up on Reece James because there is still a real, real world-class player in there who can be a massive player for Chelsea and England. Hopefully he can keep going now.’
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