Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson believes Chelsea will just have to live with Reece James’ injury situation and admitted he felt for the player.
James has been plagued by injury issues over the past couple of seasons and has really struggled to keep himself fit for any extended period of time recently.
The 24-year-old was sidelined for almost five months with a hamstring injury, which he underwent surgery on last season and Chelsea were hoping he would be fit for the start of this season.
Lawrenson shares thoughts on James
James played a prominent part in pre-season as he gained much needed minutes to help build his fitness and match sharpness.
Unfortunately James picked up what was described as a minor hamstring issue when he returned from America, which ruled him out of the final game of pre-season against Inter Milan.
The right back was suspended for the first three games of the season after picking up a red card against Brighton at the back end of last season.
Chelsea fans would have expected him to return against Bournemouth, but in a worrying update James is yet to return to training and no return date has been mentioned for the club captain.
It’s understood Chelsea won’t rush James back, but this is certainly a concern and its highly unlikely he will be seen before the next international break.
Lawrenson believes the Blues will have to live with his injury situation but admitted he felt for James because he’s such a good player.
“I think Chelsea have just got to live with his injury situation now, I feel for the player as it looks like he can’t get back to full fitness, he’s such a great player,” he told Sports Casting.
“Chelsea aren’t exactly going to be inundated with offers for him if he can’t stay fit. I hope he gets back to full fitness and finds the form that we know that he is capable of.”
The Blues have a very capable deputy in Malo Gusto but the consistent absence of their captain has to be a concern and they will desperately be hoping when James does return he can stay fit for an extended period.
