Insider suggests ‘behind-closed-doors’ Reece James return after Chelsea twist
Chelsea may organise behind-closed-doors games to help Reece James regain match sharpness ahead of the World Cup.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
James was forced off during the 2-0 win over AC Milan earlier this month (11 October) with a knee injury.
As quoted by the Telegraph earlier this week (16 October), Graham Potter revealed the 22-year-old will wear a knee brace for four weeks and could be out for eight weeks.
“There are different meanings of fit for people,” Dinnery told Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“There is fit where you are injury free and available for selection. There is every indication that will be the case. In a knee brace for four weeks then it’s five or six weeks where he could be involved.
“However, you also have fit in terms of match sharpness. That’s certainly not going to be the case for Reece James. As it currently stands, he’s not going to be able to play any competitive minutes.
“There’s a strong case where we will not see him play competitively at Chelsea before the World Cup.
“Then the decision comes to Gareth Southgate and whether he decides to take a chance on a player who won’t have played a competitive game for two months to the world’s biggest stage in games where you can’t afford to take any chances.
“There’s a lot of football to be played between now and then so circumstances may dictate how he sets up his team and who he wants to bring along. You have the issue with Kyle Walker and Trent is out of favour massively.
“The decision will come down to whether he believes Reece James can hit the ground running. You may have to put in a few friendly games behind-closed-doors in.”
In other news, a finance guru has claimed Chelsea are set to rip up the rulebook amid a world-record £1billion claim.