Thomas Tuchel has confirmed Reece James suffered a hamstring injury during Chelsea’s Premier League draw with Brighton.
England international James was supported by two members of Chelsea’s medical staff as he made his way off the pitch midway through the first half at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Shortly after James was replaced by Marcos Alonso, Blues summer signing Romelu Lukaku rose well from a corner to head the hosts in front.
But Brighton created a number of chances and finally broke Chelsea’s resistance in injury-time thanks to Danny Welbeck’s superb header.
Not only have Chelsea now drawn three of their last four league games, but the squad has been depleted by a number of injuries and Covid-19 absentees.
Asked about James’ injury after the 1-1 draw, Tuchel said: ‘No prognosis. It’s a hamstring injury. We have no more full-backs, everyone is injured. The injury was a huge blow [during the match].’
Tuchel added: ‘We knew before that this was going to be a tough match against a strong side. They come well prepared, it is always like this.
‘I have not seen one team play a nice match against Brighton. It was clear we would struggle, we have simply way too many players with who we don’t know what we can demand from them.
‘We have long injuries, they come back from Covid, I simply don’t know what they are capable of doing.
‘It is too much, that is why I can understand when you play against a Brighton side with nothing to lose and play with confidence so you have to overcome difficult moments.’
Gus Poyet, speaking to Amazon Prime, admitted Chelsea’s deepening injury crisis is a ‘big problem’ for Tuchel.
He said: ‘It’s a big problem because already we can see that Tuchel is trying to find players to play in certain positions. It’s not easy for them.’
Brighton hero Welbeck, meanwhile, insisted his equaliser was ‘well deserved’ given the Seagulls’ performance in west London.
‘It’s a well deserved point. It was a good technical performance as well as a physical one,’ the former Arsenal and Manchester United striker said.
‘To get a point here is big for us. I was outside warming up at half time so I don’t now what the manager said at half-time. But we created a lot of chances and we’re happy to come away with a point.’
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