Enzo Maresca: Reece James’ England Involvement Proves He Can Handle 3 Games a Week
Reece James featured for just under 70 minutes in both of England’s fixtures during the international break, a welcome sign for Chelsea amid ongoing concerns over the captain’s fitness.
James’ injury record has long been a source of frustration for the Blues, but head coach Enzo Maresca believes his recent international outings are proof that the defender is now robust enough to feature more regularly.
“In the moment that any player joins the international team, it’s free to play the minutes that the manager thinks he has to play, so it’s not in my hands,” Maresca explained when asked whether he was surprised by James’ workload.
“When Reece is here, we try to manage him as much as we can. Since I joined the club, I’ve been doing that with him, with Romeo [Lavia], with Wes [Fofana], with the ones that in the past had problems.
“But I think, now, Reece is showing that he’s quite fit to play two, three games in a week.”
