The return of European football to Chelsea means the return of the UEFA mandated open training sessions before a game, and that means the return of lots of fun speculation about who is and isn’t doing what in them.
The most notable absence today was Reece James, the club captain. Although, should it be that notable? As Simon Johnson pointed out on Twitter, the club are keen to not rush him back from a hamstring injury picked up before our final friendly of preseason against Inter Milan.
So far it’s been a moot point – James was suspended for the first 3 league games of the season anyway after finishing last season with his second red card of the campaign. But with the importance of having him back is only going to grow.
Of course, as always there’s a desire to not rush him back – and Malo Gusto is an excellent deputy. But at some point you’ve got to worry about Gusto’s minutes too. Last season he ended up filling in for James so often that he himself ended up getting hurt. It will be interesting to see whether the Frenchman plays against Servette this week, or whether Axel Disasi comes back in again.
Not surprised Reece James is still not training with #CFC first team yet. As reported earlier this month, club didn’t want to rush his return and first game after the international break (Bournemouth) was initially earmarked. https://t.co/mac3GaIw6F
— Simon Johnson (@SJohnsonSport) August 28, 2024
James’ return lines up nicely for Chelsea as season gets into gear
Johnson’s piece at the time gave the 14th September, the game against Bournemouth after the international break, as a potential target date, and his Tweet this afternoon makes it clear he’s got no reason to change that.
Assuming James is able to rejoin training at the end of this week, he then gets the full fortnight of international break to get back up to match speed, potentially putting him in perfect shape to start that game against the Cherries. Of course, when it comes to James, assuming anything to do with his fitness is risky business…
