Another injury to captain Reece James has added to the mounting problems of manager Maurico Pochettino at Chelsea.
James lasted only 27 minutes of Chelsea's demoralising Premier League defeat against Everton on Sunday, a result that leaves the London club languishing 12th in the Premier League table.
The 24-year-old, who was appointed club captain by Pochettino during the summer, made only 16 appearances last season due to injuries that also saw him ruled out for England at the Qatar World Cup.
The loss at Goodison Park was James's fifth league start of the campaign after he was injured during the opening weekend draw with Liverpool in August and did not return until October 21.
This new problem will be his seventh hamstring injury in the last three years and means James is a doubt for the hectic festive period, which sees Chelsea playing five games between now and the end of the year, starting with bottom club Sheffield United on Saturday.
“Reece felt something in his hamstring. For sure he's injured, but we don't know how serious it is,” said Pochettino after the game on Merseyside.
“Of course for us he is an important player, one of the best full backs in the world. We are disappointed because when you believe you can build something and a player like him who should be really important for us can't help the team.
“We go back and assess again in the next few days what is going on with his hamstring.”
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and left-back Marc Cucurella also came off injured at Everton and will also be assessed.
“Robert Sanchez suffered a problem at Manchester United, it was an issue with his knee,” Pochettino said. “He felt something during the second half, that is why he asked for the change. We must hope it is not a big issue.
“That is the same for Marc Cucurella, who twisted his ankle. We hope that these issues are not big. These are the circumstances we have been dealing with since the start and it is too much for a young team that needs to have all the elements together if we want to build something solid.”
Chelsea are now 18 points behind leaders Liverpool, and are closer to the bottom three than the top four. Manchester City occupy fourth place and are 14 points ahead of Pochettino's side, while third-bottom Luton Town are 10 points behind Chelsea.
The Everton defeat was Chelsea's 18th in the league in 2023 while this represents their worst start to a Premier League season since 2015/16, when Jose Mourinho was sacked in mid-December by previous owner Roman Abramovich.
Chelsea have spent more than £1 billion since owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali took over in May 2022, with 13 players brought in at a cost of more than £400 million in the summer.
Everton 2 Chelsea 0: Player ratings
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EVERTON RATINGS: Pickford - Called into action twice early in the game by Palmer and Enzo, and made good saves on both occasions. Made several saves late in the game. PA -
Beaten far too easily in a foot race against Mudryk in the third minute. Endured a tough first half due to the Ukrainian’s pace and trickery. Subbed off before halftime due to an injury. Getty Images -
Had a chance from the edge of the penalty area five minutes into the second half, but he sliced his effort wide on his weaker foot. Brilliant block to deny Gallagher from point-blank range in the 63rd minute. PA -
Put in a good block to deny Mudryk with just ten minutes of normal time left to play. Led the backline well. PA -
Brilliant recovery clearance to stop Broja from running through on goal in the 13th minute. Excellent partnership with Tarkowski, restricted the visitors to mostly shots from range. Reuters -
Had a good first half. Dropped deep and found spaces between the lines to pick out teammates in advanced positions. Subbed off at halftime due to a yellow card that limited his involvement. Getty Images -
Signs of a burgeoning relationship between him and Lewin upfront. Had Sanchez panicking when he hit a volley in the 24th minute, but his effort went just wide. Getty Images -
Tracked back well and in time to stop Palmer from pulling the trigger in the 57th minute. A willing runner for the Toffees, was everywhere. AP -
Must have been happy when the offside flag was raised as he had a chance to pull the trigger with his right foot in the 38th minute but made a mess of things by trying to check back to the left before having a shot at goal. Whipped in an excellent cross just after the restart, but Doucoure was too slow to react. AP -
Reacted first and side-footed the ball under the hapless Sanchez to open the scoring in the second half. A warrior in defence when the visitors upped the tempo in search of an equaliser. Reuters -
Played a part in the opener as his effort was punched into the path of Doucoure to put the Toffees ahead. Caused problems for the Blues’ centre-backs with his hold-up play. AP -
SUBS: Patterson (Young, 41). Came on and was a good match for Mudryk. Kept the Ukrainian relatively quiet in the second half. AP -
(Gueye, 46). Continued from where Gueye stopped by tucking in and breaking up attacks. Brave and strong challenge in the penalty area to stop Palmer with two minutes of normal time left to play. AP -
(Lewin, 67). Had his first attempt at goal in the 75th minute but failed to generate enough power behind his header. Kept the visitors’ centre-backs occupied. Getty Images -
(Harrison, 87). Made the desired impact as a substitute, scoring two minutes into added time to put the Toffees two goals ahead. PA -
CHELSEA RATINGS: Sanchez. Struggled with the ball at his feet early in the game. Made a good save to deny McNeil in the 49th minute. AP -
Had a go from range in the 76th minute, but his effort was straight at Pickford. Was solid at the back. AP -
Reece James with manager Mauricio Pochettino after the Chelsea captain was forced off injured during the 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton. AFP -
The offside flag spared his blushes after he misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed it to bounce over him in the 38th minute. Allowed Lewin to get on the wrong side of him in the build-up to Everton’s opener. PA -
Had a chance in the ninth minute but failed to keep his header on target. Put his pace to good use on several occasions. AP -
An average performance from the defensive midfielder. Needs to do more to influence the game. PA -
Stung Pickford’s hands with the first shot of the game in the third minute and should have done better with his rebound. Had another from range just after the restart but failed to trouble Pickford. Getty Images -
Would have done better to foul McNeil and get a yellow card in the build-up to Everton’s opener. Worked hard as usual but lacked the quality needed to make a difference. AFP -
Had plenty of joy against Young early in the game and created several chances for his teammates. His impact waned after the introduction of Patterson. AFP -
Forced Pickford into a brilliant acrobatic stop with a long-range left-footed effort in the 14th minute. Easily the Blues’ best player going forward. AFP -
Offered a different kind of threat to Jackson but was mostly well-marshalled by the Everton centre-backs. Had a number of half chances but failed to utilise them. AFP -
SUBS: Colwill (James, 27). Got caught ball watching as Doucoure reacted first to get on the end of the loose ball to put the home side in front. Had a chance to test Pickford in the second half but chose the wrong option of trying to pick out a blue shirt. PA -
(Broja, 67). Presented with the ball in a good position just after coming on but struggled to decide between playing a pass or having a shot at goal, ended up wasting the chance. Should have been much sharper when Mykolenko’s clearance fell into his path in the 79th minute. Getty Images -
(Enzo, 67). Brought on to add fresh legs in search of an equaliser, Sterling was disappointing. Struggled to get past Mykolenko on several occasions. AP -
(Sanchez, 84). Could have done better with his punch in the build-up to Everton’s second goal. Ian Maatsen (Cucurella, 84) - N/A. Reuters
But Pochettino believes the club will have to dig into their pockets again during the January transfer window.
“After the first half of the season, we need to check. That is the reality," said the Argentine. “If we are not receiving enough, maybe we need to do some movement.
“That is the thing to analyse with the sporting directors, to see if we can change this dynamic and improve in the second half of the season.
“We need to be more aggressive. Then it's a massive assessment and when the transfer window opens, we will see what we can do.
“I don't say if I am going to ask for more or less players. It's to see if the perception matches the reality.
“We are missing something. We need to improve our reality.”
