Enzo Maresca shares when he hopes Chelsea star Reece James will return from injury

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has provided an update on the fitness of Reece James on Wednesday evening.

Enzo Maresca has been speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference before Thursday’s Conference League play-off tie away to Servette, where Chelsea currently lead 2-0 on aggregate from the first leg.

Blues captain Reece James, 24, is unavailable for his side’s first three Premier League matches of the season due to suspension. Despite being available in Europe, he’s actually still waiting for his first appearance of the new campaign because of an injury problem.

The right-back missed last week’s first leg against Servette with a hamstring problem. It turns out he’s absent again tomorrow night, too. Incidentally, The Athletic reported earlier in August that the James injury setback was only a minor issue with his hamstring.

• READ MORE: Reece James shares the first message from Enzo Maresca to Chelsea’s players in pre-season

Enzo Maresca provides update on Reece James

Maresca has explained that he’s hopeful James will be back fit and ready for selection straight after the international break.

When asked about James’ fitness, Maresca said via Football.London: “Hopefully after the international break [he will be back].”

Chelsea play Servette (Conference League) and Crystal Palace (Premier League) this week before September’s two-week international break. Afterwards, they return to action on 14 September for a league trip to Bournemouth.

Reece James has a big challenge on his hands

While everyone knows James is a world-class full-back when he’s fit and firing, it’s not going to be so easy for him to nail down his starting position when he’s back.

First and foremost, James has got to prove his fitness and get over these frequent injury blows. His challenge after that is to compete with Malo Gusto for the starting position.

Speaking via Sky Sports at the weekend, Jamie O’Hara admitted he’d currently start Gusto over James, which is a credit to how well the former has done in his teammate’s absence.

Gusto has been excellent since his arrival at Stamford Bridge last summer, showing he’s more than just an understudy to James. The 21-year-old certainly won’t give up the starting position without a fight.

As long as Chelsea come through their play-off with Servette, there should be plenty of fixtures to rotate with both domestic and European competitions this campaign.