The Chelsea captain missed our last two matches, away to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup and our Premier League trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, after picking up a small knock.

Unfortunately, as Rosenior confirmed earlier in his pre-match press conference, James has recovered from that injury only to come down with an illness, casting doubt over his involvement in Tuesday evening’s match against Leeds United.

Providing further information, our head coach confirmed the skipper is the latest victim of the virus, which has hit Cobham in recent weeks and complicated his first month with the Blues.

‘The staff have been down with it – my coaching staff, the staff around the club,’ said Rosenior. ‘Fortunately, only Reece from the playing staff is affected at the moment. It’s something that we just keep trying to work on; I think it’s the same for everyone at the moment.’

That virus, combined with the Blues’ heavy workload, has seen Rosenior rotate his starting line-up frequently, as he looks to keep his players fresh during a busy period and with plenty of challenges still to come.

However, he insists those decisions are not merely a reaction to circumstances, but an important part of his coaching philosophy.

‘You've seen that we’ve rotated a lot, which you need to do in this stage of the season,' he explained. 'If you look at Strasbourg, if you look at Hull, I use rotation all the time. It’s what I believe in.

'They've played all the way through the summer, they've had no pre-season, so they've been magnificent. You have to try and freshen up the team in the right areas, mentally and physically, and you have to be really, really well prepared, tactically, to give the players the best plans and the best solutions to the problems you face.

‘If you want to be successful at the end of the season, you need a freshness and a brightness about your squad in each competition. You need to give people a chance. So that’s one of the things I believe in. I’m not afraid to rotate, I’m not afraid to show my squad trust.

‘I said to the players after the West Ham game, just because we had an off half doesn’t mean they are completely out of my plans. Everyone can have an off half. It’s about keeping the whole group in a positive mindset, because you need the whole group to be successful.’

Leeds’ visit to west London will come exactly one month since Rosenior’s first game in the Chelsea dugout, and remarkably, will already be the 10th match under his tenure.

The Blues will soon get a brief respite, though. Once this week’s back-to-back games on Tuesday and Friday are completed, there is a rare free midweek to come – even if it still seems a long way away for our head coach.

‘I’m just thinking about Leeds and then after Leeds I’ll think about Hull and then after Hull I’ll come up for breath!’ laughed Rosenior.

‘It’s been relentless but I’ve enjoyed every moment. You’ve got to enjoy what you do and make sure we keep performing with the same energy and intensity in these next two games.’

We return to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening for our clash against Leeds. With general admission tickets sold out, Club Chelsea is your only way to watch the action live. Seat-only tickets start from £210 per person (inc. VAT) – book now by clicking here!