Chelsea are running out of ways to solve Reece James problem

Injuries continue no matter how different the approach is

Where do we go from here?

A question that is probably rumbling around the mind of Reece James, Enzo Maresca, Chelsea’s medical staff and everyone else.

As we nervously await results of a scan on his latest hamstring setback, one must ponder the ever increasing paradox that has become sadly common with Reece James.

As his predecessors have also preached, Maresca has proclaimed great caution around the management of James’ recovery. They stress the need to be patient and strike the careful balance of substantial minutes to increase match sharpness, but also not too much to provoke an unwanted setback.

Matches are played, James seems to be finding his feet back in action and we can all start to look ahead. Then, almost always in training, a sudden stop. A “minor injury” or “knock” is communicated in a sombre tone by the head coach at the next press conference. Then, we do not see Reece again for months to come.

Rinse and repeat.

As much as supporters rightly wants to be supportive of James, there is little benefit in hiding away from the reality.

The paths to get James over his long-standing injury issues seem to be disappearing, or have already been trodden. Whilst in the past there may have been legitimate reason to criticize the approach to an injury-prone player, this most recent period cannot be blamed on naive thinking nor reckless acts.

Maresca has done everything you would want. Limiting James to one game a week, playing him in probably more reserved roles that do not require him to surge up and down the flank countless times per game. Even against Arsenal, when most would have expected James to start, he was benched, only coming off it in the 82nd minute.

Still this was not enough. So what now?

James had the long-awaited surgery last year, he has been through several rehabilitation cycles, each of which likely more grueling for the academy graduate who you suspect grows more desperate to play.

There are two arguably pessimistic but tragically more accurate routes Chelsea go down now.

Route one is accepting James as a mere cameo presence. His appearances have rapidly gone down each season from the heights of 2020/21 where he made 47. At the end of last season: only 11. Looking at the seasons between these two moments only solidifies the decline in minutes.

Making 39 in 2021/22 then down to 24 in 2022/23. The trend is clear and feels eerily similar to that of N’Golo Kante, also suffering with hamstring issues, becoming an increasingly peripheral figure from 2019. Seeing a steady stream of setbacks halt the club’s sole World Class player following the exit of Eden Hazard.

It is hard to envisage James in his current state ever getting close to 47 appearances again unless his durability dramatically alters.

By this measure, the club needs to start looking in other directions for what you would deem “first choice” RB/RWB options. Arguably they have already started doing this with the 2023 signing of Malo Gusto from Lyon who has proven to be a handy bit of business.

This is unofficially how things are now. Even if may not be the strategy. It is probably the more hopeful one, in being that you still enjoy James’ immense talent a few times a year, whilst hoping he overcomes the injuries that have ruined multiple seasons now. Making the exclusion of academy fullback Josh Acheampong all the more puzzling at a time when greater depth is needed.

The second option is the more clinical view that a player taking up significant wages is an issue IF that player is only available 10/11 times per season. Going off the club’s stricter wage policy, the 2022 terms agreed that saw James commit his future to the club, makes it a potential issue.

Those steep wages could be allocated to a player who is available a majority of the time and could improve first-team options. This then naturally leads to an argument for selling Reece James, which even as I type this sentence out feels blasphemous.

It would be a brutal move, one lacking in sentiment or care. However, that of course is predicated on a player being forced out of the club against his own will, which although not impossible, feels slim. The bigger problem for Chelsea is if they were considering parting ways in the near future, who is paying the required asking price?

There is a natural fear implanted in every Chelsea fan’s mind of another addition to the “got away” club. The hallways that include Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah. Even if James of right now appears unlikely to reach such heights, the nightmarish situation of him somehow ending up at a bitter rival, shaking off his past woes and fulfilling his great potential should give anyone at Chelsea cold sweats.

Are they entirely rational based on the evidence in front of us? Maybe not. However, it is a viscerally emotional one that will probably convince most supporters not fussed about wage structure to stick with James in hope he overcomes this latest injury.

But availability is probably a player’s greatest or most valuable trait. It is why the likes of Cesar Azpilicueta, John Obi Mikel and Willian were highly valuable for multiple top coaches.

The conversations around James have been theory based for years now. The theory of his connections with other Chelsea players, what could be accomplished with him at right-back, the theoretical numbers he could put up and so on. Whilst these are not completely baseless conversations given James’ clear talent any time he does appear, they have gone from hopeful to tired.

This is not to pin James’ injury problems at his door. It may just be bad luck, a series of unfortunate events that have led to this tragic situation. And that is the word that comes back most often - tragic. The sheer size of the talent within Reece James is probably broad enough to become a world-beater.

He and we are being robbed of a potentially glorious career as others take those minutes.

Should he have got surgery earlier? Maybe. Could the club have handled him better in the past? Sure. But that is the past, the reality of today is what matters and what happens next.

There are examples of players overcoming earlier injury issues; ironically looking at the cases of two ex-Chelsea players in Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Christian Pulisic, both departed for Milan in 2023 and now playing regularly at the San Siro.

But then there is the more common tale of Ledley King at Spurs or Jack Wilshire at Arsenal. Two names that are synonymous with feeling of regret and what could have been?

The other route which has been discussed amongst fans for some time is a complete shift in James from a dynamic wingback to a role which is less taxing. But then in modern football, what role is that?

Fullbacks are expected to move centrally, be good enough to contribute offensively and also defensively. Centre-backs for ball-dominant teams are also expected to be versatile, as are central midfielders, arguably the most draining role in football.

Another idea came with a loan away to gain some first team minutes in a less intense league. some say Italy or Holland. Though the powerful retort to any suggestion should come from the reality James’ injuries almost always come outside of matches.

At the age of 24, Reece is still at least three years away from what could be deemed his “prime”, however, can we still be here having the exact same conversation in 2027?