Enzo Maresca delivers Reece James reality check with Chelsea star set for return

Enzo Maresca has warned that Reece James is only fit to play one game a week as he returns to the squad to face on Sunday.

The club captain underwent surgery on a troublesome hamstring injury last season. And after returning for pre-season, he suffered a relapse and has yet to play a minute of competitive action this season.

The Blues boss revealed James, 24, is “finally available” to play for him for the first time at Anfield. “He worked with us over the international break,” said Maresca. “It's good news, especially for him because being injured is not a good feeling. Finally, he is back."

But asked how to prevent future problems, the Italian said: "It's complicated when you get injury, injury, injury again. It's not easy so you are always looking for a solution.

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“Probably the solution with Reece is the same solution we are using with Romeo [Lavia] and Wes [Fofana] in terms of using them just once a week, in one game, because probably in this moment, for different reasons, Reece's body cannot play twice a week. One of the solutions is probably to try and manage him in the same way we are doing with Wes and Romeo.

“In this moment, this can be the solution. In the future, I don't know. But if we want to build something with him in terms of physical condition, then probably the solution is to allow him to go slowly and use him once a week and then hopefully in the future we can use him more during the week. In this moment, we need to think to use him once a week.”

Chelsea’s big squad has allowed them to send out two different teams this season - one for the and one for the cups. They visit Panathinaikos in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

Maresca will have to rejig his defence at Anfield with both Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana - who have already picked up five bookings each this season - suspended on Sunday. Malo Gusto is set to play at right-back.

“It's not a problem,” he insisted. “I've said since we started: ‘I'm very happy with the squad, very happy with the players we are using’. Since we started, we have tried to share the minutes with all of the competition. We have two suspended players and we are going to find different players that can play.”

But Ben Chilwell, who has made only one substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup this season, is unlikely to come in.

“Chilly is one of our players,” Maresca added. “Unfortunately, the previous three or four days, apart from yesterday, he was ill so he didn't get any sessions. We will see how he is today and tomorrow.”

And Cole Palmer will not be deployed at left-back either. “I can say the way we use Cole, and the different manager uses Cole is probably because he saw something,” the Italian added. “But in the way we are using Cole, I think it is quite clear.”

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