Reece James ‘could start Chelsea vs Fulham next week while Ben Chilwell may make the bench’
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Reece James “is in contention to start Chelsea’s clash with Fulham next week, while Ben Chilwell could be back on the bench” after recovering from injury in a big boost for Graham Potter.
- Chelsea currently sit 10th in the Premier League table after a slump
- Graham Potter’s team have lost several key players to injury
- Fullbacks ‘Reece James and Ben Chilwell now look set to return to the first team’
Chelsea fullback ‘Reece James could be available to start’ their next Premier League match, while ‘Ben Chilwell is expected to be fit enough’ for the dugout.
James was ruled out of the World Cup last year after suffering a knee injury in October. He made a brief return for the Blues against Bournemouth after Christmas, but was replaced shortly after half time and has not featured since.
His Chelsea and England teammate Chilwell has also spent much of this season out with a hamstring injury, leaving Graham Potter’s side without their two first-choice full-backs.
Reece James and Ben Chilwell have not been available for Chelsea since before Christmas
Chilwell now looks set to ‘return to the bench for their next league clash on Friday’
However, it seems that his luck with injuries will change with the Telegraph reporting that James will be available for next week’s game against Fulham, while Chilwell is likely to return as a substitute.
Speaking to the club’s website on Friday.Chilwell was optimistic about his return, saying: “I’ve been working now for 10-11 weeks to get back on grass and I’m back training now for a few days so I’m buzzing and I’m really looking forward to getting back to games and help the team.
“Missing the World Cup, it’s something some of the guys here have had to deal with and it’s about how we get through it. It’s not what happened, it’s how you deal with it, and we’ve all stayed positive.”
James ‘could start the match against Fulham’ after being sidelined with a knee injury
The news will be a big boost for the Blues, who are currently without a number of key players including N’Golo Kante, Raheem Sterling and Edouard Mendy.
Results have taken a hit, with the club slipping to 10th in the table despite spending heavily on the likes of Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix.
They have now won once in their last five games and only scored three goals in that period.
Chelsea’s next league game could be a major marker of where Potter’s men stand with their first-choice full-backs involved, having lost 2-1 to Fulham without them just two weeks ago in the away game.
The Cottagers, who sit seventh in the league after an excellent first half of the season, travel to Stamford Bridge on Friday.