Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that full-back Reece James will not feature for the Blues in this year’s Club World Cup.
Following their Champions League win last season, the Blues are one of two automatically seeded teams who will advance to the competition’s semi-final.
The teams the Londoners could face on February 9 are Monterrey, Al Ahly, Al Jazira or Al-Hilal.
However, one player who will not be travelling with the squad is James, who picked up an untimely injury.
Speaking during a scheduled press conference on Friday, when asked about the English full-back’s availability, Tuchel said: “He is not in team training yet, so maybe that answers the question.
“After a couple of weeks, he will need some time in team training to get the confidence back. He does not travel with us to the Club World Cup.”