When can Reece James play for Chelsea again? Injury development, star’s message and potential return date

Reece James has suffered another injury setback, and here we round up all the latest on the right-back’s situation.
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Reece James has suffered another injury blow after returning to action on Tuesday night. The Blues star missed the World Cup after picking up an injury issue, and he couldn’t quite return in time to make Gareth Southgate’s England squad, having likely done enough to warrant a call-up based on form.

Following the World Cup, James returned to action with Chelsea on Tuesday, but he is now set for another spell on the sidelines. It’s a bitter blow for James, and indeed Graham Potter, who has not been able to count on the right-back for much of his time in charge so far. Here we round up James’ injury situation leading up to this point and the latest on his fresh setback.

James’ injury history

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Since breaking into Chelsea’s first team plans, James has missed a total of 60 games through injury, spanning three seasons. Those injuries have varied, including ankle injuries, hamstring, knee and minor setbacks. James’ most recent problem was a knee injury, and that particular setback saw him miss nine Chelsea games, as well as the World Cup. In total, the right-back was absent for 60 days. He eventually returned on Tuesday night when Chelsea beat Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

Latest setback

James’ return lasted 53 minutes before he was forced off with a fresh setback. The injury suffered is around the same area in the same knee, and that has caused concern.

Chelsea boss Graham Potter has said: “It’s the same area, so we are concerned. It’s really too soon [to tell]. We’ll have to see over the next 24-48 hours. He felt something there and we will have to find out the extent of it and keep our fingers crossed.

“He’s been really disappointed to miss the World Cup, of course. It was a huge blow to him. You could see today his quality and what he brings to the team. He is a world-class player. You see it from the outside but not until you work with him do you see how good he is. He could play in any team in the world, and any team would miss him. The plan was to play 60 minutes today so now he’s disappointed, of course. We hope it’s not as bad as it was and he can have a speedy recovery.”

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According to the latest reports, James will miss between three to four more weeks with this latest setback.

James’ messages

Following the fresh setback, James has taken to Instagram to voice the difficulty of suffering another blow.

He wrote: “2022 has been the toughest year to date. Just wanna thank you all for the support, none of you go unnoticed. It’s naturally affected me mentally, I’m currently just tryna deal with the cards I’ve been dealt. I hope your end of year is filled with peace, joy & happiness.”

James added in a later message: “It hurts more than you could ever imagine, I guess it’s another learning lesson, whatever the lesson is, I’m yet to know. I’m sure I’ll look back in the future and understand why this had to happen, growth only takes place when you’re challenged. In such a bad situation there’s still many things to be thankful for, you guys being one.”