Reece James is set to feature for Chelsea this weekend in what will be his first outing of the season.
The Blues travel to face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday with their club captain in line to play a part in the Premier League fixture.
James has not featured since the penultimate game of last season after aggravating a troublesome hamstring injury during pre-season.
Having missed much of the second half of last term, the right-back is itching to return and while Enzo Maresca revealed the good news about his availability, he did admit that there’s a catch.
“He’s available, finally he’s back,” said Blues boss Maresca. “He worked with us in the international break. It’s good news, especially for him.
“It’s complicated when you get injury, injury, injury. You’re always looking for a solution.
“The solution with Reece is probably the same as with Romeo (Lavia) and Wes, in terms of using them just once a week.
“In this moment, Reece’s body cannot play twice a week. One of the solutions is we’ll try to manage him in the same way.
“In the future, I don’t know, but if we want to build his physical condition probably the solution is to allow him to go slowly and use him once a week.”
Taking a cautious approach with James’ fitness could be sensible given his lack of match action in recent campaigns.
The last two seasons have seen the England international make just a combined 26 appearances in the Premier League as injuries to his knee and hamstring have persisted.
The 2023-24 campaign was particularly frustrating for James, who missed 29 games from December to May.
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He was red carded against Brighton in May on his first start in five months for a dangerous challenge on striker Joao Pedro, causing him to miss Chelsea’s final match of the season.
Maresca, who has taken advantage of his enviable squad depth since taking charge by selecting a different XI for league and cup fixtures, has been able to call upon the impressive Malo Gusto at right-back with the 21-year-old France international proving a more-than-able deputy.
“It’s difficult but it’s nice because you know that one of them, the one I choose, is going to do well,” said Maresca. “This is a good feeling.
“First of all Reece has to be fit, then slowly we’ll see. We have many players who are versatile and can play in different positions.”
