Latest Chelsea injury should see the end of Reece James experiment | OneFootball

The injury-hit captain could do with one less thing to worry about

If Enzo Maresca was the most relieved man in west London at witnessing Chelsea’s late fightback against Fulham on Sunday, then Reece James may have been a close second.

That James cried foul to referee Anthony Taylor in the aftermath was not a good look, adding to the growing perception of this young Chelsea as a team of stroppy, excuse-makers - one that, to their credit, they did a little to dispel with a stunning turnaround courtesy of Tyrique George and Pedro Neto.

James was replaced at half-time, though part of that decision may well have been down to workload management, given he had played 90 minutes against Legia Warsaw in the Conference League on Thursday and usually does not start two matches in such close proximity.

His replacement, Malo Gusto, was however forced off himself with what Maresca later confirmed as a muscle injury, and “not a good one” at that.

Malo Gusto was forced off against Fulham

Action Images via Reuters

Should Gutso miss any significant period of time (there is little more than a month left of Chelsea’s season, not counting the Club World Cup) then it may open the door for James to return to right-back - and that is probably for the best.

This was James’s first start in his specialist position in two months, the majority of his recent football having come instead in an experimental midfield role.

Certainly, he has the technical skill and range of passing for the brief, but if a weakness has been exposed in that time, it is a lack of 360-degree awareness, of often wanting just a second too long on the ball in the area of the pitch where time is at greatest premium.

It was on show on the night Maresca first trialled the scheme, in the defeat away to Aston Villa in February, and even against Legia Warsaw in midweek there were two instances of the Englishman losing possession in dangerous areas to spark visiting attacks. Even reverted to right-back, the same flaw was in evidence - and this time punished - here.

It is part of the reason why even last month, as Maresca was talking up James’s long-term future in midfield, the manager under whom he enjoyed the best form of his career was talking it down.

“We did it very, very rarely with Chelsea,” said Thomas Tuchel, the former Blues boss who handed James an immediate recall in his first England squad - but tellingly used him at full-back. “If you play a dominant match like today [England’s win over Albania], he can be like a hybrid midfielder where he comes from left or right full-back and helps in midfield to create an overload.

James has been trying to find form and fitness, lead a young Chelsea team through a difficult patch, and learn a new position all at the same time

“Once it's an open game and there are a lot of transitions through midfield, I’m not so sure it would suit him perfectly.”

This recent midfield experiment has had benefits for all parties. It has given James a route to regular football on his return to fitness, without forcing the long, lung- (or hamstring-) busting sprints required at full-back. It has also given Maresca a way to rotate in a problem position where, amid a spate of January exits and Romeo Lavia’s injury struggles, he has not had much cover for Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.

Lavia is now fit again, though like James he must be managed, and Maresca faces a bit of a puzzle in how that eases the load on Caicedo and Fernandez, given the Belgian is not eligible for European games.

As for James, well, rather a lot has been asked of the 25-year-old of late. He is trying to find form and fitness, trying to lead a young Chelsea team through a difficult patch having not always worn the armband easily, and trying to learn a new position, all at the same time.

There are good signs on the two former fronts; he appeared to come through these successive starts physically unscathed and delivered a captain’s assessment of Chelsea’s defeat to Warsaw in midweek, drawing Maresca’s praise.

Perhaps then, taking the third challenge off his plate for now may be no bad thing.