Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has revealed Reece James undertook jogging work at Cobham this morning as the England international attempts to return from injury ahead of the World Cup.
James has been ruled out since the 2-0 victory over AC Milan in the Champions League last month. The 22-year-old suffered a knee injury during the clash at San Siro and has since faced a race against time to be fit for the tournament in Qatar, which gets underway on November 20.
Gareth Southgate must decide whether to include James in his 26-man squad despite the fact the full-back will not be match fit. However, Potter did deliver a positive update on James this afternoon as he spoke to the press ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup third-round tie against Manchester City.
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"Reece was outside today having a little jog, but there is nothing to report in terms of anything else," Potter said. "There is no timeframe [to return]. It is just how he responds. We don't want to rush anything, and I certainly don't want to put any timescales on it. That is for him, the doctors, and physios."
Potter has had to contend with a number of injury issues in recent weeks. In addition to Kepa – who is sidelined with plantar fasciitis – and James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante and Carney Chukwuemeka are also ruled out. And Potter admitted there is yet another concern ahead of the trip to the Etihad.
"Jorginho has a slight problem with his foot," the Chelsea head coach explained. "Apart from that, we pretty much have the same group we've had."
If Jorginho is not fit to feature, Mateo Kovacic could return to the starting XI. The Croatian has had to be managed carefully in recent weeks due to a knee issue but Potter insists the 28-year-old is not far away from full fitness.
“He’s had an ongoing knee issue that has led to a little bit of discomfort but it’s not stopped him completely,” Potter said. “We have had to be conscious of that during this period. It’s not a massive problem for him and he’ll be fine for the World Cup. I wouldn’t say he is 100% but he’s not far off that. We’ve managed it really well and we’ve managed it really well.
"He is a top professional and has done everything he can in terms of rehab, looking after himself in the gym, and making sure his body is as good as it can be. He is a fantastic professional but it’s been going on since pre-season and we’ve tried to make the best of it.”
With a plethora of fitness concerns and an important Premier League clash to come against Newcastle United at the weekend, Potter is expected to rotate his side against Man City. And there could be first-team outings for two members of the Development Squad: Lewis Hall and Omari Hutchinson.
“He’s [Hutchinson] in the squad, Lewis Hall is in the squad. They've impressed, They've been training with us for a while now, and we've got some good quality young players we just need to nurture and take the right steps with. They will be in the squad and involved."
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