“I feel for him” - Jason Cundy extends support to Chelsea star amid worrying run of form

Pundit Jason Cundy has weighed in on the situation of Chelsea captain Reece James, who is set for another spell on the sidelines. The English right-back has been troubled by injuries in recent years, with his poor fitness record undermining his quality.

James was named captain by manager Mauricio Pochettino, a testament to his quality and importance to the side but injuries have not allowed him to feature regularly. The 24-year-old picked up a second hamstring injury of the season in his side's 2-0 defeat to Everton at the weekend and was substituted after only 26 minutes of action.

Pundit Jason Cundy told talkSPORT that he understands what James is going through as he was forced to retire early through injury.

“Can we have a word for Reece James? Honestly, that poor kid, again he walked off after 26 minutes."

“I had to retire early with injuries and I had injuries throughout my career. There’s nothing worse than coming back and then trying to come back again. I feel for him.”

Reece James picked up a hamstring injury after the opening game of the season against Liverpool, which caused him to miss the next seven games. He returned in his side's entertaining draw against Arsenal and played another four games before picking up a red card.

Chelsea manager Pochettino was left disappointed by the latest injury to his captain, who has missed 34 games in the last two seasons. The extent of his injury is unknown, but the club will hope he recovers quickly.

Chelsea hampered by injury problems

Chelsea has been very unlucky with injuries over the past two seasons and this has contributed to their abysmal showings.

Pochettino has yet to see Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia in action since his arrival at the club, as a result of injuries. Carney Chukwuemeka started the season excellently, scoring his first senior goal but has been injured since August.

In the defeat to Everton, the Blues lost James, Marc Cucurella and Robert Sanchez to injury, deepening their woes. The club needs to find a way to get on top of their injury situation soon or things may spiral further out of control.