Chelsea handed Reece James injury boost before West Ham as new theory emerges
Chelsea injury news as Reece James fitness hope emerges before West Ham despite training absence
Four weeks on from his initial injury in pre-season, Enzo Maresca didn’t have much positive news on Reece James. He still “needs more time,” the head coach vaguely said before the meeting with Bournemouth at the weekend.
That chimes with what has been heard and seen at the club in the past month: Very little. James is still yet to play a game for Chelsea this season despite being given an extended summer programme and has been a peripheral figure at best in the public stream of footage and content offered out.
James didn’t play the final match of last season due to suspension but had returned briefly for an appearance away to Brighton in the penultimate game of the campaign. A red card on the South Coast cut another frustrating year to a close.
In America, and now under Maresca, James was managed carefully but used plenty during matches against Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Real Madrid, and Manchester City. Deployed in a variety of positions from orthodox to inverting right-back, James built up steadily once more.
It was against City that he was last seen kicking a ball. Since then he has been spotted hobbling out of the stadium and not much more to follow.
After finally undergoing hamstring surgery last season having been forced off with injury half an hour into a December clash with Everton that ruled him out for almost all of the second half of last season, James has been left sidelined so far again. Given that he is yet to come back into the full first-team setup it already looks unlikely that he will play before the next international break.
If that is the case – and Chelsea will be extremely careful with how James is managed – then it will be October 20 at the earliest before he appears on the pitch. Between now and then Maresca will oversee five matches.
With the Italian boss keeping his cards close to his chest regarding James, and nothing of note coming from the club recently either, the only minor updates have proven to take a bigger importance. In this instance, Romeo Lavia might just have dropped the most significant hint so far.
The 24-year-old is also dressed in full training gear including a long-sleeved thermal top. Putting two and two together, it appears James has been doing some work on the grass at Cobham again.
This does not fully equate to him being close to a return, James spent months last season on his own outside at the Surrey-based complex working towards fitness before being integrated again into Mauricio Pochettino’s matchday group, but it is a boost nonetheless.
With West Ham to come at the weekend it is almost certainly too soon for James to return. However, it appears progress has been made even if it is proving to be slow and frustrating.
Chelsea ended the 2023/24 Premier League season on a high, but it is never quiet at Stamford Bridge and the summer looks set to be one full of news, with question marks over Mauricio Pochettino’s future at the club and plenty of talk around transfers.
