---
title: "Chelsea: Reece James ‘officially ruled out’ for Leeds United clash"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-chelsea-team-news-leeds-united-reece-james/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Emilio Galantini"
section: "Chelsea News"
published: "2023-03-04T10:38:02Z"
modified: "2023-03-04T10:39:01Z"
---

# Chelsea: Reece James ‘officially ruled out’ for Leeds United clash

**[Chelsea](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/chelsea-fc-news/) will be without star defender Reece James against Leeds United this afternoon as manager [Graham Potter](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tag/graham-potter/) shares an injury update.**

### The Lowdown: Crucial clash…

The Blues take on Leeds in what is set to be a crucial[Premier League](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-news/) clash for both sides, with one battling relegation and the other yet to get going under Potter.

Chelsea have endured a nightmare run of late, prompting links to new managers across the last few weeks, [including](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/chelsea-fc-news/mauricio-pochettino-graham-potter-latest-manager-updates/) ex-Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Potter must get his team on a run and quickly or the Englishman may well face more reports of his potential sacking – with the boss also [having to cope](https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/chelsea-fc-injury-news-silva-mount-james-b1064604.html) without Thiago Silva, Mason Mount and Cesar Azpilicueta today.

### The Latest: Reece James update…

Writing on [Twitter,](https://twitter.com/SJohnsonSport/status/1631962347492212737) reporter Simon Johnson of The Athletic has relayed news from Potter, with James now becoming another to be ‘officially’ out of today’s clash with Leeds.

*“Reece James has now been officially ruled out of #CFC’s game v #LUFC today.”*

### The Verdict: Worry for Potter…

As per [WhoScored,](https://www.whoscored.com/Teams/15/Show/England-Chelsea) the 23-year-old is a key player for Chelsea and has been for the last few seasons.

Only winger Hakim Ziyech has averaged more crosses into the box than James over the 2022/2023 campaign with the former Wigan star also ranking among their best-performers by average match rating.

James has also been called ‘[sensational’](https://twitter.com/talkSPORT/status/1577786111140761602) by members of the media for his displays at Chelsea, the right-back will be a sore miss for Potter in a potential future deciding game.