Premier League will be back in action this weekend. After a couple of weeks of international football, all the players have returned to their respective club camps. For the Blues the things are also the same. But there are both good and bad news at the Cobham camp as of now.
Chelsea’s next fixture is away from home, at the great Anfield stadium against the table toppers Liverpool. The bad news is, unfortunately the Blues will miss two of their key players in that game. As Maresca’s side will travel to the Merseyside without the likes of his backline warriors Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana. Both of them are suspended for a game as they have already received 5 yellow cards in the league campaign.
It will be a huge concern for Maresca, as the Reds will take full advantage of the right flank in the absence of Cucurella. Mo Salah and Luis Diaz will be the main threat for the Blues. And the regeneration of Ryan Gravenberch under new manager Arne Slot can also cause problems in the middle pitch. However, Chelsea will not be sidelined due to that, as they got ice-‘Cold’ Palmer on their side.
The good news for the Blues will be their captain’s return at the training camp earlier this week.
Reece James returns, starts training at the Cobham camp
Blues captain Reece James was seen training with his teammates through a full training session video posted by Chelsea’s official website. James was set to mark his return in the earlier stages of the session. He even participated in the game against Real Madrid in the pre-season campaign. But James received another hamstring injury after that and was forced to miss the games played by Chelsea so far.
According to the reports of We Ain’t Got No History, Reece James was set to play his first game of the season last month as he recovered thoroughly on time. He was even added to the squad in the Conference League fixture. But his return was pushed back by the management and medical team to take some pressure off.
James will still need some time to play regular minutes at the pitch. We shouldn’t expect him to be back in action yet. Maresca will use him gradually after seeing the circumstances. It will be dangerous for the 24-year-old fullback to play in a high intensity game suddenly. For now Malo Gusto is doing just fine at the league so far. So Chelsea can manage till the time James gets fully fit for Prem action again. However, we can see James back in the pitch to play some minutes in October.
Chelsea’s confused future with the right back
A fully fit Reece James have been one of the best players for Chelsea since the last 5 years. The Englishman was one of the key players behind Chelsea’s European glory in the 2020-21 season. He was even handed down the captains armband last year after the departure of César Azpilicueta. But due to his injury issues James have missed a big part of the season in the last couple of years.
The Blues have felt the absence of the 24-year-old as they have lacked options in the right side. James is definitely one of the best players in his position as he is great in both defense and attack. But if the concerns regarding his fitness didn’t solve quickly then it will be better for the Blues to move on from James.
Right now, the English fullback is earning £250,000-a-week at the West London club, which is the most amongst all. Chelsea will surely consider the circumstances, and they are already looking for a backup option for the right back spot in the market.
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