James faces long lay-off after knee surgery
Reece James's Chelsea career has been plagued by injuries, and the England international is set for up to three months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery on his knee.
James has missed Chelsea's past two games, a 3-0 defeat at Brentford and 5-1 win against Bournemouth, after suffering the injury in training. The club has confirmed the 26-year-old has already started his recovery.
James has made six appearances for the Blues this season, with Xabi Alonso's side sitting sixth in the Premier League ahead of this weekend's trip to Everton.
The right-back has struggled with injuries since breaking into the Chelsea first-team; he has suffered various hamstring injuries in each of the past four seasons.
Alonso has no intention of rushing his captain back.
"We are all disappointed, especially for him [James]. He wanted to have a good start after the international break, but he picked up an injury," Alonso said.
"The surgery has been successful. We are supporting him.
"I wish him the best recovery. We won’t set timelines, but we expect him to be out for several weeks.
"It's not going to be short. Whether it's before or after Christmas, then time will tell. It needs to be done properly.
"We have a big squad to deal with injuries. We have four more games until the next [international] break, so I think we can manage well with the players that we have."
Alonso is yet to settle on a regular formation with Chelsea and had deployed James in midfield while switching between a back four and back three.
Against Bournemouth most recently, Pedro Neto played as the right wing-back, with Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson making up the midfield duo.
Chelsea's defence has proven shaky so far this term, with no side conceding more than its 13 goals.
But Alonso is confident James can help Chelsea while he is sidelined and does not anticipate having to dip into the transfer market in January to cover his absence.
"I don't think so; we expect by that time he will be back. It doesn't affect [that]," Alonso said.
"He is still a very important player. He is the captain, he is a great influence, and hopefully, after he recovers from this injury, he will be available for many games.
"He has a good mentality, and we need him."
Reece Lewis James
Chelsea FC
