Reece James is one of the 25 players who have traveled to Abu Dhabi with Chelsea in preparation for a training camp in warm weather before the start of domestic competition. Twelve players from the academy are included in the group, along with a few others who are also dealing with injuries.
James and Wesley Fofana are also included, in addition to Ben Chilwell and N'Golo Kante, who will both be sidelined until after the new year and won't be available for the Blues' next game against Bournemouth on December 27. The defensive duo have been out since early October after suffering separate knee injuries against AC Milan back-to-back weeks.
Given the injury problems that Les Bleus themselves had, Fofana was an outsider for Didier Deschamps' France team.James was almost certainly going to be Gareth Southgate's first choice right-back for the tournament. The duo have instead spent the last two weeks recovering in England.
READ MORE:Why Raheem Sterling didn't play for England vs Senegal in World Cup round of 16 clash
Chelsea fans have received a major boost just three weeks out from their domestic return though. James has been pictured back on the training field and was taking part in a bizarre drill. The 22-year-old is on camera heading a ball against the cross bar from two yards out with his teammates waiting in a line behind him.
He misses his first header to the despair of those seemingly in his team - it looks like a race - but gets the next two in a row and continues to run back to the line where his colleagues have created an archway for the ball with their legs.
0 Comments