James resumes Chelsea training after knee injury
Reece James has returned to training with Chelsea after being omitted from England's FIFA World Cup squad due to injury.
The full-back was left out of Gareth Southgate's 26-man travelling squad to Qatar, where England faces France in the quarter-finals on Sunday (AEDT), after being sidelined since 12 October with a knee issue.
Southgate referenced "too many unknowns" over the Chelsea defender's recovery for leaving out James, who sustained the injury in a Champions League clash with Milan.
James spoke openly of his disappointment to miss out on FIFA's top tournament as he acknowledged "there was risk on both sides but it was one I was willing to take".
The 22-year-old returned to training on Monday for Chelsea's first session in Abu Dhabi at their warm-weather training camp as Graham Potter's side seek improvements after the World Cup break.
Chelsea lost its last three Premier League games before the mid-season interval to leave Potter's men eight points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, albeit with a game in hand.
A downturn in form coincided with losing numerous key players to injury, with Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell and Kepa Arrizabalaga joining James as absentees.
Fofana and Chilwell, the latter who also missed out on the World Cup with England due to injury, will hope to be fit for Chelsea's Premier League return at home to Bournemouth on 28 December.
Chelsea next faces Aston Villa in a mid-season friendly in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
