Graham Potter believes Reece James is psychologically ready for the second half of Chelsea’s season after the “brutal” expertise of sustaining a knee harm that sidelined him from the World Cup.
The 23-year-old appeared destined for Gareth Southgate’s Qatar-bound England squad earlier than he was compelled off in the second half of Chelsea’s 2-0 Champions League victory over AC Milan in mid-October.
Blues boss Potter acknowledged it has been a troublesome few weeks for James, who shall be obtainable when Chelsea host Bournemouth in their return to Premier League motion on Tuesday.
He mentioned: “It was a World Cup and so they come round each 4 years. So whenever you’re younger, the perspective isn’t really easy to get.
“You are younger and also you wish to play. That’s actually comprehensible. It’s the identical for Reece, Ben Chilwell, N’Golo Kante. It’s brutal actually to need to cope with.
“You can attempt to assist them and provides them a little bit of perspective however in the finish it has to come back from them, their households and people individuals near them.
“I’ve to say he’s in a good temper, he’s in a good place. He has educated with us, is coaching effectively and is a good team-mate. He has handled it effectively.
You are younger and also you wish to play. It’s brutal actually to need to cope with.
Graham Potter on Reece James missing the World Cup
“There is not too much you can say. You say it will get better with time and you have to focus on the things you can control. But there is nothing you can say to a player that will make it get better.
“He is missing the World Cup. What can I say? All I can do is acknowledge that it is upsetting, that whatever he is feeling is normal and help him move forwards.
“It was a challenging period for him. It was a challenging period for all the players. There were another 12 that are watching their team-mates and getting injured and missing the World Cup. You have to think on some level there is an effect there. They’re only human.”
Potter confirmed the right-back had accomplished 65 minutes final week, although he’ll proceed to rigorously monitor James’ enjoying time as he builds again to prime kind, admitting the Premier League was “not an ideal place to do that”.
Kante (hamstring) isn’t anticipated to return till late February at the earliest, whereas Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Wesley Fofana nonetheless want extra time to recuperate from their respective accidents.
Armando Broja has been dominated out for the the rest of the season after struggling an anterior cruciate ligament harm and present process surgical procedure. Potter can be resting World Cup third place play-off opponents Mateo Kovacic (Croatia) and Hakim Ziyech (Morocco) after their deep runs in the Qatar match.
As for James, Potter believes the trickiest a part of his restoration trajectory got here at the starting.
“He’s been training for a few weeks now and that helps,” mentioned his boss.
“The tough time is when you can’t play football because you’re injured. And there’s a World Cup going on, it’s a reminder even more so of what you are missing.
“For him, the best thing is that he is playing football and the World Cup is finished now and he can concentrate on playing football.
“He was in a really good place before he got injured. If you look at how the team was functioning before he got injured and after. It’s not the only reason of course but Reece is a top, top player and when he is not with us it’s a miss.
“I am confident the more football he plays the more we will see what a fantastic footballer he really is.”
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