Reece James has been left out of the Chelsea squad who play Southampton in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge today.
The England international has only recently made his return from injury, starting the last three games for Graham Potter’s side.
A knee injury picked up in October ruled the 23-year-old out of the World Cup before James aggravated the problem upon his return to action against Bournemouth in January.
The defender, along with Thiago Silva and Hakim Ziyech, have been given rest time.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has also been overlooked for the visit of relegation-threatened Southampton despite Graham Potter’s insistence the forward remained an “important player”.
Major League Soccer side LAFC are keen to sign the former Arsenal captain as a big-name replacement for the retired Gareth Bale, although Aubameyang is believed to harbour reservations about a move to the United States at this stage in his career.
Chelsea play London rivals Tottenham next weekend before hosting Leeds and traveling to Borussia Dortmund for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 clash at the start of March.
