Graham Potter has confirmed that Chelsea’s Reece James will be back sooner from his injury than Wesley Fofana.
James and Fofana, who are two of Chelsea’s first-team defenders, have both been missing through injury since October. There’s some positive news emerging now, though.
Chelsea boss Potter has given an update on the fitness of his squad of players that are not at the World Cup. For example, he confirmed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek may be back in team training next week.
He shared an intriguing line about two key defenders as well.
James back sooner than Fofana
Chelsea centre-back Fofana, 21, hasn’t played since early October because of his knee problem. As for 22-year-old wing-back James, his knee injury meant he cruelly missed out on the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar.
Potter says that both defenders are now training again with the group, but it’s James who is further along in his healing process than Fofana.
“Reece is not quite fully training but he’s integrating into training along with Wesley. Wesley is a little bit further behind but not too far,” Potter said.
The news is that James is closer to an injury return than Fofana. Will either be fit for Chelsea’s next game on 27 December against Aston Villa, though?
Chelsea’s defence was looking fairly vulnerable before the winter break, but you’ve got to remember both James and Fofana were missing from the line-up.
Blues supporters are still waiting to see more from Fofana, who’s only made six appearances since joining in the summer from Leicester City. However, he arrived with a big reputation and huge talent.
As for James, he’s one of the first names on the team sheet when fit.
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