Insider reveals new details on Reece James Chelsea return – ‘My understanding is…’
Reece James may not return to full fitness for Chelsea until 2023.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
As quoted by the Evening Standard earlier this week (12 December), Graham Potter revealed James had made a “step up” with his recovery.
The right-back, who turned 23 this month, has not featured for Chelsea since he suffered a knee injury in their 2-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League on 11 November.
He had surgery on the issue and missed the World Cup as a result.
“My understanding is he won’t be fully integrated this week, it will just be an opportunity to step up and take part in aspects of first-team training with the rest of the group,” Dinnery told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley.
“That’s probably an indication that he’s still a little bit behind the others.
“With those hamstring problems, there is a high reoccurrence and high re-injury rates. You don’t want to be taking your chances with that.
“Realistically for him, there could be a few appearances from the bench towards the end of the year and then in early 2023 we are looking at him pushing for starts, possibly in the FA Cup.”
Chelsea are set to return to Premier League action on 27 December when they welcome Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues face Man City at the Etihad Stadium in the FA Cup on 8 January.
In other news, a finance guru has claimed Chelsea are “chasing down the cash” as an £80million deal is aborted in a move “never seen before”.