10 hours ago, nonotnowjim said:

I don’t pretend to know anything about sports science - but I find it hard to believe that as a club we are routinely risking players, by asking them to play when not fully fit.

It feels like quite the opposite - any little niggle is an excuse not to play. 
 

In Reece’s case, he seems to have weak/dodgy hamstrings that are prone to injury. Him suffering a reoccurring injury is likely nothing to do with his overall fitness and being rushed back - but more likely his genetics and biology. The surgeon himself said Reece has “extra big hamstrings” which causes issues. 

This has played out, with his hammy consistently being an issue….an extra week or 2 of match fitness is not going to  help with that. 

 

Reminds a bit of essien.

 

Also I don't think it has anything to do with his sister.

Imho, If he can't get fit enough to play this season for a good number of games then unfortunately the question of him staying will pop up next summer window and I can't blame the owners or coach for wanting a replacement and selling him.

8 hours ago, Simplymo said:

Reminds a bit of essien.

 

Also I don't think it has anything to do with his sister.

Imho, If he can't get fit enough to play this season for a good number of games then unfortunately the question of him staying will pop up next summer window and I can't blame the owners or coach for wanting a replacement and selling him.

agreed - and also don't think anything to do with Lauren. Was just pointing out that there is history for similar with hazard and musonda.

Is he meant to be fit/available for this weekend or is he out til next season already?

1 hour ago, The Boehly Babes said:

Is he meant to be fit/available for this weekend or is he out til next season already?

Beeb

 

Captain Reece James remains out with a hamstring injury, with no sign of an imminent return.

1 hour ago, Simplymo said:

Beeb

 

Captain Reece James remains out with a hamstring injury, with no sign of an imminent return.

Sigh. 

On 13/09/2024 at 08:59, Sconnie Blue said:

I think an awkward question will be asked in January/summer 2025 if this continues. 

 

18 hours ago, Simplymo said:

Beeb

 

Captain Reece James remains out with a hamstring injury, with no sign of an imminent return.

I dont really want to say it out loud, but I’ve given up on him now. Awful for him, and really bad for the club. 
Imagine a 3-4-3 with Palmer and Nkunku as 10’s and Reece and Chilwell on top of their form bombing down the flanks. Sadly, its never to be

19 hours ago, Simplymo said:

Beeb

 

Captain Reece James remains out with a hamstring injury, with no sign of an imminent return.

I reach the point of laughing now because there is nothing else left. Even when he comes back he won’t be playing much.

Is a great shame as he is such a talented player.

Must be how Spurs fans felt with Ledley King.

17 hours ago, axman2526 said:

Is a great shame as he is such a talented player.

Must be how Spurs fans felt with Ledley King.

King at least played in games but couldn't train. Reece cant even make it to train. I blamed Lampard for not shutting him down 2 seasons ago when he came back from injury late in the season and was playing even though we had nothing to play for except Lampard's pride and I blame Poch for doing the same last season even though i believe Reece might have had something to do with it since he wanted to make the euros 

Awful. He must be pretty devastated by the run of events. 

Im not giving up yet. Look at Kante who can now stay fit. Reece can get there, but we need 25+ appearances this season. 

Arjen Robben is officially one of the most injured players in history and yet there was a time where he was unquestionably the world's third best player after Messi and Ronaldo in his late 20s. 

Hamstring injuries are complex and hard to rehabilitate. The issue is usually that they require a lot of time and neither player nor manager wants to spend that time. Rehabilitating a top-level professional athlete is a world away from rehabilitating a college athlete or even an Olympian, let alone an amateur with a bad hammy.

 

5 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

Arjen Robben is officially one of the most injured players in history and yet there was a time where he was unquestionably the world's third best player after Messi and Ronaldo in his late 20s. 

Hamstring injuries are complex and hard to rehabilitate. The issue is usually that they require a lot of time and neither player nor manager wants to spend that time. Rehabilitating a top-level professional athlete is a world away from rehabilitating a college athlete or even an Olympian, let alone an amateur with a bad hammy.

 

Giggs had similar problems in his early twenties

41 minutes ago, charierre said:

Giggs had similar problems in his early twenties

Well we probably now know what caused Giggs' 'groin injuries'...

Robben and Giggs both had longer top-flight careers than the likes of Rooney or Fabregas. There are some players whose injuries are frequent, but seem not to affect performance.

I find it quite sad that a lot of our "fans" first though is "We should sell him immediately" rather  than have some sympathy or empathy for a young player, captain of his club, who must be going through hell mentally. I agree with Syd, weve seen plenty of players have major problems as a young player only to flourish later on. I would rather we keep him at the club and rehabilitate him properly over time. Too often player are seen as a commodity, throw him away when were done with him, these are human beings that should be looked after when they have problems like this for f**ks sake.

23 hours ago, The Don Antonio said:

King at least played in games but couldn't train. Reece cant even make it to train. I blamed Lampard for not shutting him down 2 seasons ago when he came back from injury late in the season and was playing even though we had nothing to play for except Lampard's pride and I blame Poch for doing the same last season even though i believe Reece might have had something to do with it since he wanted to make the euros 

James is only 100 appearances from making more professional appearances than King. Even if James retires at 32 he only needs to play 12 games a year in all comps. 

The blame doesn't lie with Lampard or Poch, there is no blame. A young player has a very unfortunate injury issue. We as fans need to support him at all times because when fit he's without doubt the best full back on the planet. 

1 hour ago, dkw said:

Too often player are seen as a commodity, throw him away when were done with him, these are human beings that should be looked after when they have problems like this for f**ks sake.

But this is how Chelsea is being run right now,player is just asset and we are customer

 

7 hours ago, PhilH930 said:

Awful. He must be pretty devastated by the run of events. 

Im not giving up yet. Look at Kante who can now stay fit. Reece can get there, but we need 25+ appearances this season. 

But playing in a league with absolutely none of the tempo or pressure of the PL. 

3 hours ago, dkw said:

I find it quite sad that a lot of our "fans" first though is "We should sell him immediately" rather  than have some sympathy or empathy for a young player, captain of his club, who must be going through hell mentally. I agree with Syd, weve seen plenty of players have major problems as a young player only to flourish later on. I would rather we keep him at the club and rehabilitate him properly over time. Too often player are seen as a commodity, throw him away when were done with him, these are human beings that should be looked after when they have problems like this for f**ks sake.

👍Spot on mate

I feel desperately sorry for the guy, absolutely a top player before the injuries..

2 hours ago, Bob stark said:

But this is how Chelsea is being run right now,player is just asset and we are customer

 

So one hand your completely opposed to how the owners run the club, but you also copy the way they treat players? 

6 hours ago, dkw said:

So one hand your completely opposed to how the owners run the club, but you also copy the way they treat players? 

Im pretty torn about James' injury record. I dont think blame can be apportioned to any manager overusing him or rushing him back. I dont think he's been treated unfairly by the club. He is, when fit genuinely one of the best right backs in the game even at 80 percent fitness. But we havent seen the best from him for a number of years and it is going to become increasingly troublesome for the club and player becuase he is costing the barrow cash boys money. At what point do they get miffed. 

I think he is probably as frustrated with his hamstring as we all are. Probably best for fans to remove all expectations from him, forget about him for a while while he finds a solution and we simply wish him all the best in his recovery. I really hope we get him fit because he is a massive game changer for us, if we ever see that side of his game again. 

Get well soon Reece James. failing that, he could borrow his sisters hammy when she's not wiping the floor of her opponents. Funny, he's already won more than most players do in a career with the champions league, would be sad to really see him retire but at least he bow out a total champ. 

 

Just demote him to Conference League + Cup matches as of now. Slowly integrate him into the starting XI once he has built up fitness and his body has adjusted post surgery.  

13 hours ago, dkw said:

I find it quite sad that a lot of our "fans" first though is "We should sell him immediately" rather  than have some sympathy or empathy for a young player, captain of his club, who must be going through hell mentally. I agree with Syd, weve seen plenty of players have major problems as a young player only to flourish later on. I would rather we keep him at the club and rehabilitate him properly over time. Too often player are seen as a commodity, throw him away when were done with him, these are human beings that should be looked after when they have problems like this for f**ks sake.

I don't disagree with any of this tbh. What i do find hard to reconcile is how fans continually keep harking on about Reece being one of the best RBs in the world when fit. That now can only be an hopeful anticipation at best surely. Reece hasn't been at the top of his game, for an extended period for what 3 years now? I'm not saying he's cr@p, I'm not saying that he is a busted flush, but the harsh realities of footballing life is that it never stands still and the progress and development that Reece showed at a  young age has gone now, with just reputation remaining. We can show loyalty and can manage him back to fitness in the hope that he fulfills that early potential but we are approaching the point where we hopefully will have another very talented RB breaking through the ranks and we need to be mindful that we don't inadvertently suppress the potential from Acheampong whilst we continue to wait for Reece to fully recover. 

As an aside, i always liked Andy Myers as a kid coming through. I know it was different times and we had different expectations but i really thought he had a high ceiling. But he never really hit that potential being constantly blighted by injury (very similar body shape and feature to RJ actually). Eventually his ability started to get affected by these issues and he just became a lesser player.

Edited September 19, 20241 yr by WhiteWall

Reece James 'not at the top of his game' is still better than Malo Gusto, and Malo Gusto is a very, very good player who would start at RB for any team in world football bar Bayern and Man City. 

That's how good Reece James is. 

19 hours ago, dkw said:

I find it quite sad that a lot of our "fans" first though is "We should sell him immediately" rather  than have some sympathy or empathy for a young player, captain of his club, who must be going through hell mentally. I agree with Syd, weve seen plenty of players have major problems as a young player only to flourish later on. I would rather we keep him at the club and rehabilitate him properly over time. Too often player are seen as a commodity, throw him away when were done with him, these are human beings that should be looked after when they have problems like this for f**ks sake.

I would generally agree - but there comes a point when enough is enough and we have to realistically accept and play the hand we have been dealt.

We all know Einsteins quote about the definition of insanity - and I fear that a time is coming when simply trying to rehabilitate and cross our fingers every year isn't a sensible way forward.

The reality is that rest, surgery and management hasn't worked for 3 years - and there is probably little hope it will miraculously start being a successful mitigation strategy now. Even the surgeon who worked on Reece spoke about his biology and the way he is built and put together is massively contributing to his issues.

I am all up for trying again - but i do think we need to set a deadline or target - and if he can't meet that, then look at options. 

5 hours ago, SydneyChelsea said:

 Malo Gusto is a very, very good player who would start at RB for any team in world football bar Bayern and Man City. 

 

Big disagree here. I even prefer Chalobah over gusto as rb