Reece James has admitted that he will be unable to play every game for Chelsea as he looks to step up his recovery from injury, claiming that he needs to be ‘using his head’ in order to remain injury free going forwards.
The English defender’s recent career has been blighted with issues, and he picked up a knee injury against AC Milan that ruled him out of Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad which flew to Qatar in November.
Returning against Bournemouth when the Premier League resumed, he lasted just 53 minutes before he suffered a re-occurrence, and had to be substituted, subsequently missing his side’s next 5 Premier League games.
But he has slowly been making his return since, playing 90 minutes for the first time since October in his side’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, though the Englishman has since warned Graham Potter that he won’t be able to play every game between now and the end of the campaign.
‘I can’t just try to play every minute of every game because it wouldn’t make sense”, James explained. “I need to try and stay injury free for the rest of the season and help the team as much as I can. That can only be done by using my head and saying what I feel and how I feel.”
Fortunately for James, help will soon be on the way, with a 30m euro deal having been agreed with Lyon for the addition of 19-year-old Malo Gusto, a right-back by trade, this summer. Considered one of the top young defenders in Europe, Gusto’s arrival will help ease the burden on James, while also ensuring that the drop off in quality when the Englishman is absent is not as severe as it is at present, with Cesar Azpilicueta the only other recognised right-back in the squad.
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