Chelsea suffers Reece James injury setback as Liverpool gets boost in Champions League race

Chelsea has lost captain Reece James to injury as the season enters it business end. Liverpool will hope to be able to capitalize on this unfortunate setback.

Reece James has suffered a hamstring injury, a blow to Chelsea's chances of Champions League qualification. (Image: Andrew Kearns - CameraSport via Getty Images)

Chelsea captain Reece James is expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury, potentially handing Liverpool an advantage in its quest to qualify for next season's Champions League. The Blues currently trail the Anfield outfit by a point.

Let's be frank: neither Liverpool nor Chelsea deserve to be anywhere near next season's competition. But somehow, the pair remain in the race, and Arne Slot will gratefully seize upon any kind of advantage that might come his way.

Most importantly, that may yet include the Premier League being granted an extra qualifying spot, although the start made by the English sides in the knockout rounds does not bode especially well. But should fifth prove sufficient, Liverpool is technically on track, even if the point earned against Spurs was widely considered a "disaster" of a performance and result.

And the loss of James will be a body blow to a similarly-stuttering Chelsea side. Playing in midfield recently, he has been one of the few bright sparks in a bumpy run of form.

Even as a Liverpool fan, it has been nice to see him manage to put a run of games together, having been plagued by injuries for so long (I've always said he's England's best right-back, after all...). Chelsea just committed to a new six-year deal for the 26-year-old, which is already looking like it might have been a touch optimistic on the fitness front.

In the more immediate term, the question is whether Liam Rosenior's men can huddle together to get over the line without him when it comes to the Champions League picture. The severity of the injury is yet to be fully confirmed, but Chelsea still has to come to Anfield before the end of the campaign.

If Rosenior is to pull off qualification, much will surely depend on Joao Pedro, who has been in excellent form lately. He is very much taking on the Dominik Szoboszlai role of trying to haul his team over the line.

Joao Pedro has been in fine form for Chelsea. (Image: Ben Roberts - Danehouse/Getty Images)

With limited prospects of either Liverpool or Chelsea becoming coherent outfits in the next few weeks, it will likely be a case of who is able to step up with the most moments of individual quality. The frustration for both sides is that they clearly have the talent within the squad, but turning that into consistent performances and results is proving challenging.

And of course, it isn't a two-horse race. Looking up the table, Aston Villa could very much still get dragged into the dogfight; looking down, Brentford and even Everton probably need to be mentioned.

The Bees have only lost one of their last five, and trail Liverpool by just four points. The Toffees are only a single point further back, and given the form of their city rivals, they must fancy having a good go at it.

Slot can point to some injuries of his own to at least partially explain how Liverpool has ended up in such a predicament. He too has a sadly injury-prone right-back, with Conor Bradley set to be sidelined for months.

Elsewhere in the side, the absence of record signing Alexander Isak has been keenly felt. The hope will be that he can make a difference in the final weeks, but Liverpool will once again have to account for the process of getting the Swede up to speed.

Alexander Isak has missed most of Liverpool's season through injury and fitness issues.(Image: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

But it would be letting Liverpool and Chelsea off the hook to say that injuries have been the story of the season. The reality is that both sides have dramatically underperformed relative to their available resources.

The upshot is that they have left themselves with razor-thin margins ahead of the run-in. Against that backdrop, any prolonged absence for James could prove decisive.

And while all associated with Liverpool will hope that his injury is not so serious that it will jeopardize his World Cup involvement, it simply has to seize on the fact that its rivals continue to leave the door open. Escaping from this horrific campaign with a Champions League place would be almost embarrassing, but with so much money and prestige on the line, the stakes for the season remain as high as ever.