Christopher Nkunku has enjoyed a good start to his second season at Chelsea with the French forward thriving under Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge

Jabbing a finger into his own chest as he ran towards the travelling Chelsea supporters at the Vitality Stadium, Christopher Nkunku ’s energy in celebrating his winning goal over Bournemouth was as much angry defiance as pure jubilation.

Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, has revealed that Reece James’ return from injury has been delayed. James has been dogged by hamstring injuries and is yet to feature this season. Maresca has now said there is no scheduled return date for the full-back.

Enzo Maresca has addressed concerns over Chelsea’s squad balance as he looks to turn a bloated squad into a successful side.Chelsea have made a solid start under the new head coach with seven

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca believes players are right to complain about the intense schedule and says going on strike may be one of their options to change things. Player welfare has become an escalating concern,

Enzo Maresca has confirmed both Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are in contention to feature in Chelsea’s clash with West Ham, but Reece James, Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto remain sidelined. A late Christopher Nkunku strike earned Chelsea a 1-0 win away to Bournemouth last time out and Maresca’s men will look to extend their 100 per cent record on the road in the Premier League with victory at the London Stadium this weekend.

Chelsea are not in that competition, but do play in the Conference League this term and have the added complication of having qualified for Fifa’s new Club World Cup next summer. The result is that a season which began on August 18 may not finish until July 15 next year and Maresca says there is “no doubt” players are being asked to play too many games.