The news that Reece James has another hamstring injury has Chelsea fans wringing their hands that he’s suffering from a chronic issue and is going to be plagued by problems for the rest of his career.
We can safely say he’s a fragile player, that’s true. But in his press conference today, Frank Lampard denied that there were any underlying, chronic problems.
“I don’t think it is a [longer-term] problem,” the interim coach said in quotes picked up by the Evening Standard.
“I just think with this season, you see periods, and it might be because you really understand what Reece gives this team both defensively and offensively, that your eyes are drawn when he is not there.
“We want to get him as fit as he can be because he is a top player.”
Of course as a caretaker he’s not going to be fully abreast of every last shred of medical detail on every player, but if James had a chronic issue on any level the club were concerned about he would surely know.
So we can still hold out hope that it’s all been bad luck, and that having a solid backup on the books to give him regular breaks will keep him fit for all of next season, especially with no European football.
