Chelsea defender returns to training as Pochettino is handed enormous injury boost ahead of Brighton

Chelsea’s training ground in Philadelphia was full of smiles as the team welcomed defender Reece James after he missed the game against Wrexham n North Carolina.

James is looking ahead to a massive season after being hampered by knee injuries last season, his omission from the Chelsea team that flew to the United States last week due to an unspecified illness raised eyebrows but his return is a massive boost to the squad as they prepare to take on Brighton in their next game.

The Blues got their pre-season campaign off to a flyer after putting five goals past League Tow side Wrexham, in that game Pochettino handed another academy graduate Trevoh Chalobah the armband while nine players made their Chelsea debut including Ian Maatsen who bagged a brace.

James is considered by many at Chelsea as the club’s next big thing and even though injuries meant he ended up playing half of his games last season while not being 100%, he’ll be keen to get going now under Pochettino.

They will take on Brighton on Saturday night before games against Newcastle and Fulham come. They will then end their tour of the United States on August 2nd when they take on German side Dortmund before heading back to the United Kingdom.

Chelsea finished a disappointing 12th in the league table despite spending almost £600million on players, they have balanced the books by shipping out almost 10 players including N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendyand Mateo Kovacic.

They are also still in discussions with Saturday’s opponents for the signing of Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo.