While most players enjoy heading off on an international break, they must also get the same excitement about returning to Cobham as we get watching them return.
This week’s training video shows just that. Enzo Maresca is getting stuck in and grinning away, there’s tons of enthusiasm in every exercise we see.
We also love all the talking out there – Tosin is becoming our communication idol in the squad. Whether it’s a game or training, he’s always giving information out to those around him. That’s a vital quality for a centre back, and he’s got it in spades. He’s the most likely to be called up to replace Wesley Fofana in the back line tomorrow, so we will need him at his best.
You can see the action in the clip from Chelsea TV embedded here:
James shines in latest injury return
So what can we conclude from these training snippets? The mood looks great, post international break, as you’d expect. But one player in particular looked great. The attention was all on Reece James, taking part in his first full training session of the season, and the highlights showed him on fire already.
Strong, fit, fast, sharp. He’s way ahead of where you’d expect given he’s been out since late August.
But James has shown multiple times before that there is a small consolation in his injury record – he seems to be able to return at a really good level. We’ve seen multiple examples before of him coming off a long absence and picking up where he left off.
We doubt he gets more than a few minutes tomorrow – but he’ll make the most of them, that’s for sure. Even just the prospect of having him on the bench is enough to put some fear into Liverpool and give our squad a boost.
