What Chelsea plan to do with every injured player this season after Reece James delay

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Chelsea do not look like they want to take any risks with any of their injured players this season.

Chelsea have had quite a few injury problems already in the current campaign, with captain Reece James currently unavailable, for example.

James isn’t recovering as quickly as Chelsea would have liked, but the right-back has not suffered any kind of setback at least.

As well as James, the likes of Malo Gusto and Romeo Lavia have also picked up problems this term.

• READ MORE: Many Chelsea fans are making the same suggestion after Reece James injury update

Reece James and others will not be rushed back

Chelsea aren’t going to rush James back from his injury. In fact, it appears that no injured Blues player is going to return to action until he is fully ready.

“This isn’t just with James either,” journalist Simon Phillips wrote on Substack when discussing Chelsea’s decision to be cautious with the 24-year-old. “This is something they are universally trying to do across the whole club this season.

“They are going to be extra careful with injured and fatigued players so they can do all they can to keep injury numbers down this season.”

While James will not be available for Saturday’s London derby against West Ham United, Jadon Sancho will.

Sancho trained with the Chelsea first team on Tuesday after doing some fitness work inside on Monday.

Chelsea taking the right approach with injured players

Last season, Chelsea had way too many injuries. It was another campaign where James spent a lot of time on the sidelines, while Lavia and Christopher Nkunku barely played either.

Lavia only managed to make one appearance, showing how bad his injury problems were. Had the Blues avoided such an injury crisis, they may have ended up finishing in the top four.

When you consider the above, playing it safe with their injured players make sense, especially with James.

James is being linked to Real Madrid once again, but they are unlikely to make any kind of offer if the England international cannot prove his fitness.

Chelsea sold Conor Gallagher to Atletico Madrid over the summer and allowed Trevoh Chalobah to join Crystal Palace on loan, so you cannot rule out the club’s owners selling James just because he is from the academy. In his current state, though, a bid is not imminent.