14 players could miss Leicester City vs Chelsea as Enzo Maresca faces nervous wait

Chelsea and Leicester City will both have players on the sidelines for their Premier League clash this weekend.

The Blues travel to the King Power Stadium to face the Foxes in their first match after the November international break.

Enzo Maresca's side were held to a draw with Arsenal in their previous fixture, with the point moving Chelsea up to third in the table and into the Champions League qualification spots.

Maresca gave a pre-match press conference at Cobham on Thursday where he gave an injury update on the Blues' squad. The Chelsea boss confirmed that club captain Reece James is unavailable with a hamstring injury.

"He [James] felt something and we don't want to take any risks for the weekend," said Maresca. "He is the only one that is not available for this weekend."

Maresca added: "Hamstring. It's a muscular problem. We don't want to take any risks for this weekend and hopefully it's not something long."

There are also doubts over Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana and Malo Gusto, who all withdrew from their respective national team squad during the international break. Plus, Romeo Lavia emerged as a possible injury concern after being withdrawn with a hamstring issue during the draw with Arsenal.

Jadon Sancho has been sidelined through illness and a fitness issue in recent weeks, while fellow summer signing Omari Kellyman remains unavailable with a hamstring injury.

For Leicester, they are reeling from the news that Abdul Fatawu has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Fatawu underwent surgery on the injury which he suffered while on international duty with Ghana.

The Foxes could also be without Jamie Vardy, who is recovering from a back injury, but Leicester will hope to have the striker available to face Chelsea. Fellow striker Patson Daka is expected to be available for the first time this campaign after dealing with an ankle injury he suffered during pre-season

Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Jordan Ayew have also been recovering from injury in recent weeks, but could be in line to return to face the Blues on Saturday. Ricardo Pereira and Jakub Stolarczyk remain absent and will not be available to face Chelsea.

Sign up for Chelsea news direct to your email inbox

Chelsea ended the 2023/24 Premier League season on a high, but it is never quiet at Stamford Bridge and the summer looks set to be one full of news, with question marks over Mauricio Pochettino's future at the club and plenty of talk around transfers.

And by signing up to our newsletter here, you'll make sure you receive the best Blues content including news, rumours, articles and fan opinions - direct into your inbox and all for free!

We also want to hear from you. Create an account here in just a few moments, so you can have your say on all things Chelsea, join the debate and take part in exclusive Q&As as well.