Will Reece James Return Soon for Chelsea?

Chelsea defender Reece James is also in training, having recuperated from his hamstring injury. Speaking before kick-off, coach Enzo Maresca emphasized: “He is also okay but still a little fresh—he still needs. Sometimes you must not increase games suddenly, so we work again.”

The 25-year-old had surgery on the same injury 12 months ago and has made just four appearances this season. Chelsea captain hasn’t played since sustaining the injury in training last month.

The plan is part of the session, to be with him, and from there try to build the right condition for him, finally he can be back with us.

Maresca confirmed that injured midfielder Romeo Lavia will “struggle to play on Sunday and defenders Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile remain sidelined, long-term.

Enzo Maresca has revealed that the likes of Ben Chilwell and Carney Chukwuemeka may submit a transfer request for January since they don’t have game time.

Chilwell was frozen out by Maresca when he took charge this season. The former captain has made just one appearance in the League Cup this term, while Chukwuemeka has featured four times in the Conference League and once in the League Cup. “Each player is a bit different situation, so we’re going to see if some of them are coming and knocking on the door to say I want to leave or something like that.

We will try to find a solution,” said the Italian coach. Chelsea were beaten 2-0 on their visit to Goodison Park last season and a win there on Sunday would put the London club top of the table for a few hours at least, before Liverpool take on Tottenham Hotspur later in the day. “I don’t think they can have some pressure about the consequences of the win on the standings. Because first of all, you have to win,” Maresca said.