Chelsea ‘optimistic’ over Reece James, Wesley Fofana for first game back — report

Chelsea landed in Abu Dhabi yesterday to begin our midseason pre-season, and every player who was on the injury list prior to the World Cup break has traveled with the team.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that they will all be ready for when the season resumes on Boxing Day, with the likes of N’Golo Kanté and Ben Chilwell not expected to be back until (much) later. Kanté in fact probably won’t be back until the spring following his hamstring surgery in October (4-month estimated recovery) while Chilwell was expected to miss all of January as well with his hamstring tear.

But we do have some better news, with Chelsea reportedly “optimistic” about being able to call on Reece James and Wesley Fofana for when we welcome AFC Bournemouth to the Bridge on December 27. Both young defenders had been dealing with knee injuries, but have made good progress in their recoveries — which included a special rehab trip to Dubai, even.

Presumably Kepa Arrizabalaga will be good to go as well following his foot injury just before the break, while hopefully whatever Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s dealing with isn’t too serious either.