EPL: Reece James suffers injury scare before US pre-season tour

Reece James has undergone a scan for a potential knee injury days before Chelsea heads off to the United States to begin their pre-season tour.

The right-back has been plagued by injuries during the past few seasons, playing just 26 Premier League games in 2021/22 and seeing that number drop down to 16 last year, having seen his campaign end prematurely due to a hamstring injury.

The issue with his knee, sustained in a Champions League fixture with AC Milan, ruled him out for eight weeks and the World Cup, but he suffered another knee problem upon his return in December.

From February onwards, he made eight appearances in the top flight before a hamstring injury suffered during a match against Real Madrid, again in the Champions League, ended his season.

Having not played since then, the hope had been that James would enjoy a seamless transition back into training and senior action, the trip Stateside offering him a chance to build up his fitness.

James has spent the summer recovering and working on his fitness, but The Athletic reported that he complained of pain in his knee during a training session in the early days of pre-season.

Chelsea decided to send in Reece James for a precautionary scan on his knee which has confirmed that the injury is only ‘minor’. He is still expected to head out to the United States with the rest of the squad on Monday, July 17.

New Blues manager Mauricio Pochettino wants to make James integral to his plans and hopes he can build his fitness through warm-up matches against Wrexham, Brighton, Fulham, and Newcastle.

James should be able to play some part in Chelsea’s busy three-week tour, which will help Pochettino’s slimmed-down squad be ready to face Liverpool at home on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.