‘Ryan Giggs situation’ - Martin Keown offers Chelsea fans hope amid latest injury blow

Martin Keown has issued a verdict Chelsea fans will want to hear on the Reece James situation.

James has had a torrid time with injuries over recent months, missing the World Cup before returning and picking up a string of muscular injuries. The Blues full-back started the first game of the season, against Liverpool, only to pick up another hamstring injury, and reports claim there are fears within the club that he may miss ‘months’ of action.

Many fans have been left concerned about James’ injuries, with the England star picking up a total of 15 injuries that have seen him miss games since the start of the 2019/20 season.

But Arsenal legend turned TalkSPORT pundit Keown believes James, who is still just 23 years of age, shouldn’t be too concerned about his tendancy to pick up injuries early in his career.

“He is in a great situation with the club he is at, in terms of the medical science they have,” Keown said. “It was a knee injury that kept him out of the World Cup and then he came back. It’s quite easy, sometimes, to get that imbalance and to have hamstring injuries, and it was in the very first game.

“I think we should watch closely, I think he will be okay. It’s just him getting to used to the rigors of top-level football again, and it happened in the last 10 minutes - that’s where a hamstring is going to happen. But he has the best medica care there. It’s concerning, but I don’t think we need to be overly worried.

“He is a young man, and he can get over these injuries. There have been players in the past - we had a Ryan Giggs situation for years where he had problems, and then he played until he was 41 years of age. So, you can get over these issues.”