Enzo Maresca has given an update on Chelsea captain Reece James ahead of Sunday’s match away at league leaders Liverpool; as well as news on the rest of the squad.
Reece James To Return Soon
Maresca Has Hinted On James’ Return vs Liverpool
James has not played for Chelsea so far this season following an injury in pre-season after a rocky 23/24 campaign for the right-back. The Blues captain only featured in 11 games in all competitions in the last campaign after being plagued with injury for the second year in a row; the skipper was an instrumental piece in the Chelsea machine providing solid defensive cover, most notably his performances against Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior in the Champions League back in 2021 and 2022, as well as great attacking returns.
James’ best season came under new England manager Thomas Tuchel in 2021/22 where he played 26 games, starting 22 and returning five goals and nine assists.
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Fans are eager to see whether Maresca can bring this version of James out despite Malo Gusto excelling recently as Chelsea’s right-back. The Blues manager has hinted at a return for James against Liverpool this Sunday stating: “He is available. Finally he is back.” This news is what fans of the West-London club have been longing to hear as an instrumental figure around the team.
The manager stated that he has a clean bill of health among the players, something that the Blues haven’t had in a long time.
Key Defenders To Miss Liverpool Matchup
Despite the good news about James, The Blues are without central defender Wesley Fofana and left-back Marc Cucurella due to yellow card suspensions. Both players have been instrumental towards Chelsea’s promising start to the season with them starting all seven Premier League games. Renato Veiga is favourite to start in place of Cucurella; he played the same role in Chelsea’s Europa Conference League opener vs Kaa Gent and impressed, getting on the scoresheet and winning Man of the Match.
As for Fofana, central defender Tosin Adarabioyo has featured in three Premier League games this season and is most likely the preferred partner for Levi Colwill.
