Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino says captain Reece James will start in the Carabao Cup tie with Blackburn Rovers.

It will James' first start since injuring his hamstring on the opening day of the season.

Pochettino said: "I can confirm he is going to start. I want to confirm only one player but it is good for the team, it is good for him to start from the beginning of the game.

Meanwhile, fello fullback Ben Chilwell is "out of the country" in Los Angeles this week as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury.

Pochettino said, "It was the plan for the club to change the scenario for him because it is a period he needs to be out. This happens at different clubs, like (when I was) at Tottenham and Southampton. When there is a long period of recovery sometimes you want to change the scenery for the player, to provide because to spend 12 hours here every day…it is a fantastic training ground but some times the player needs to change the atmosphere to recover in a good way.

"I can not tell you (when he will be back). It is difficult to know. He is away from the training ground now and we will wait for him to come back to see the situation. Hopefully he can recover as soon as possible."