Enzo Maresca makes Reece James fitness admission ahead of injury return

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confessed Reece James is not able to play more than one match per week as the Blues look to bring an end to his lengthy battle with injuries.

James is braced for his first appearance of the season on Sunday when Chelsea face Liverpool. He has already missed 11 games in all competitions, having also been forced out of a total of 83 matches across the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.

Blues fans are keen to see James get back to his best but Maresca pleaded for patience as Chelsea's medical staff manage his return to the pitch.

"He is finally available," Maresca said of James. "He worked with us over the international break. It's good news, especially for him because being injured is not a good feeling. Finally, he is back.

"It's complicated when you get injury, injury, injury again. It's not easy so you are always looking for a solution.

"Probably the solution with Reece is the same solution we are using with Romeo [Lavia] and Wes [Fofana] in terms of using them just once a week, in one game, because probably in this moment, for different reasons, Reece's body cannot play twice a week. One of the solutions is probably to try and manage him in the same way we are doing with Wes and Romeo."

Such a process would likely rule James out of any Conference League games, while FA Cup and Carabao Cup outings also appear unlikely depending on how they fit into the football calendar.

James' return means Chelsea have a clean bill of health for the meeting with Liverpool, although Maresca must make do without the suspended duo of Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana.

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