Injury News: Crucial Chelsea defender set to return to training ahead of League Cup final

Chelsea superstar Reece James will return to training today ahead of Liverpool clash in the Carabao Cup final

According to The Sun, Chelsea are in line to receive a major boost as Reece James is set to return to training ahead of their Carabao Cup final clash against Liverpool.

James suffered a hamstring injury during the 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion back in December. He was certainly missed after being forced to the sidelines considering Chelsea depend a fair bit on their wingbacks in the attacking phase, and his setback alongside Ben Chilwell enduring an ACL issue contributed to our poor form in recent months.

The 22-year-old will be training with his teammates for the first time since he suffered the injury. He would be looking to get back into contention after being on the sidelines for about seven weeks. His recovery would give a massive boost to Thomas Tuchel with the Blues set to take on the Reds in the all-important League Cup final this weekend.

Great piece of news!

The Englishman was arguably our best player this season before he was on the receiving end of the unfortunate injury. He was crucial to our defensive solidity during the early phase of the campaign while simultaneously having a major influence on the attacking side of things.

The Premier League defender has made 23 appearances this term and has scored five goals alongside providing six assists across all competitions. His return would undoubtedly improve us but it remains to be seen when exactly he is fit enough to feature in a competitive game.

We will be facing off against Lille in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tomorrow, but it is unlikely that the academy graduate would make the matchday squad. After all, it is pretty unrealistic to expect a player to make the matchday squad after he has just returned to training from a lengthy injury.

We have gathered some momentum in recent times, even if the victories have not been easy. January saw us bring in no new faces to cover for Chilwell and James’ absence apart from Kenedy’s return to Stamford Bridge- who is yet to feature for us this season.

In that regard, the return of one wing-back comes as a major boost because this would also allow us to use Cesar Azpilicueta in the central defensive role if and when needed. The veteran Spaniard does not offer the same pace and attacking incision as compared to James even if he brings him with defensive solidity down that flank.

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It now remains to be seen just how James’ recovery curve goes from here. The final comes in 6 days’ time and it would certainly be a massive boost for us if we can somehow get James into our matchday squad for the showpiece occasion at Wembley on 27th February.