Chelsea captain Reece James has returned to first-team training after an injury riddled start to the new campaign.

James has not made a competitive appearance for Chelsea since getting sent off against Brighton in the penultimate game of last season. The dynamic full-back had only made five top-flight starts across the entire campaign after undergoing hamstring surgery at the end of 2023.

Enzo Maresca was able to call upon his skipper for all five games of the club’s US pre-season tour before James pulled up with another hamstring issue in August.

Two months on, The Athletic report that the English defender has finally returned to training with his teammates.

During his individual rehabilitation work, James suffered a minor setback, but is said to have returned to the pitches at Cobham during the October international break. While most of his colleagues were away with their national teams, James took the first steps towards getting back into the first team just as Chelsea’s fixture list heats up.

The Blues travel to Anfield on Sunday and will be without two defenders, Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana, who are serving bans for an accumulation of yellow cards. It is unlikely that Maresca will throw James straight into the starting lineup after such a long layoff, but there is ample opportunity for a return to action in the coming weeks.

The west London outfit travel to the home of Greek side Panathinaikos in the Europa Conference League before a double-header against Newcastle United in the Premier League and Carabao Cup.

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