Chelsea captain Reece James has returned to first-team training after a series of injuries at the start of the new season. James has not played a competitive match for Chelsea since being sent off against Brighton in the penultimate game of last season. He had only made five starts in the Premier League throughout the entire campaign after undergoing hamstring surgery at the end of 2023.
During Chelsea’s pre-season tour in the US, Enzo Maresca was able to include James in all five games before he suffered another hamstring injury in August. However, according to The Athletic, James has finally rejoined his teammates for training after two months.
James’ individual rehabilitation work faced a minor setback, but he returned to Cobham during the October international break. While most of his colleagues were away with their national teams, James took steps towards making a comeback just as Chelsea’s fixture list becomes more demanding.
The Blues will face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday without two defenders – Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana – who are serving suspensions due to accumulated yellow cards. It is unlikely that Maresca will immediately include James in the starting lineup after such a long absence from playing, but there are opportunities for him to return to action in the upcoming weeks.
Chelsea will travel to Greece to play against Panathinaikos in the Europa Conference League before facing Newcastle United twice – once in the Premier League and once in Carabao Cup matches.