Mauricio Pochettino has just been speaking to the cameras ahead of Chelsea’s game against Nottingham Forest this afternoon, and there was just one topic that people were interested in – the long awaited return of Reece James to the bench.
We’d seen him in training for a couple of weeks, and Pochettino had very seriously hinted that the right back could return today – and indeed he’s there on the bench. We should see a cameo today at the very least.
“It’s great to have Reece back with us. It’s very important to have him here and we hope that he can perform for us and help the team. To have someone with Reece’s quality and experience back is very good,” Pochettino said in quotes picked up by the official Chelsea website.
“We know that he’s been out for a long time and probably cannot start the game but we are pleased he is here with us and I’m sure the supporters are happy too.”
Mauricio Pochettino on Reece James:
"It's great to have Reece back with us. It's very important to have him here and we hope that he can perform for us and help the team. To have someone with Reece's quality and experience back is very good."
[via @ChelseaFC]
— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) May 11, 2024
A boost ahead of an important summer
From the moment he had the surgery we knew that James was going to miss such a significant portion of the season that he wasn’t going to be able to feature until most things were decided. But it’s still a nice boost for James to be able to finish his rehab and get back on the pitch before the campaign is over. It should set him up for a much more positive summer – and hopefully for next season when he will have another chance to try and shake off these nightmare injuries.
James will have been desperate to get back a little bit sooner to try and get a few starts and try to work his way into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros. But we’re glad caution has won out.
