Reece James is stepping up his recovery and took part in a training session with the rest of his Chelsea team-mates at their Abu Dhabi camp on Monday evening.
The right-back has been sidelined with a knee injury since the middle of October and, despite his best efforts, was unable to return in time to be part of England’s World Cup squad.
But James looks set to be back for the resumption of the domestic season, which begins for Chelsea with a home match against Bournemouth in the Premier League on December 27.
The defender was part of a 25-man squad that flew from London to the United Arab Emirates late on Sunday evening, with many watching England’s clash with Senegal beforehand – which featured a host of Chelsea players on both sides.
They arrived in the UAE mid-morning local time and were put through their paces later in the day.
Chelsea’s website describes the session as ‘light’ and featured ‘stretching, jogging and a series of games designed to keep the spirits high and get the legs moving after the seven-hour flight from England’.
The travelling party consisted of players not involved at the World Cup, such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jorginho, Marc Cucurella and Trevoh Chalobah, as well as injured players who are in the rehabilitation process.
Chief among them was, of course, James who appears to be quite advanced in his recovery, while Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante also took part in the light session.
With many of Chelsea’s players still involved in the World Cup, the rest of the squad was made of youngsters such as Lewis Hall, Charlie Webster and Cesare Casadei.
Chelsea will have a fuller training session on Tuesday as they build up to a friendly against Aston Villa on Sunday.
James was asked about his injury – and missing out on the World Cup – in a recent Q&A on Twitter, saying: ‘Being motivated whilst being injured and missing the World Cup has been the hardest hurdle in my professional career.
‘It’s been super tough, I can’t lie, but everything happens for a reason. The sun don’t stop for no one. We keep goin! Good question btw!’
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