Reece James makes 'plan' statement with Chelsea injury message after Newcastle win
Chelsea defender Reece James has issued a message after completing his first full match of the season following an injury lay-off.
The Blues captain has struggled with his fitness over the last 18 months, missing the first weeks of the campaign with a hamstring injury. James made his long-awaited return with a 53-minute cameo in the defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League earlier this month, where the right-back was handed his first start by manager Enzo Maresca.
Sunday afternoon saw James star for Chelsea in their 2-1 win over Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer secured the three points for the Blues with their goals in west London, but the game also saw James complete his first 90 minutes since April 2023 which came against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
After the game, James took to social media to send a message to Chelsea fans following his long-awaited return to action at Stamford Bridge.
"That was all part of the plan," James wrote on Instagram. "Huge win! Amazing TEAM performance! So happy to be back home playing with my brothers!"
The post has received more than 300,000 likes and has drawn many comments from the Chelsea fanbase. James' teammate, Moises Caicedo, also commented on the post with a message that read: "Skip".
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Pedro Neto also sent a message to James in Portuguese, which when translated read: "Play a lot, Reece." Christopher Nkunku also wrote the word "strong" in the comments for James' post, while Marc Cucurella also wrote: "Captain."
James will hope to be in the starting line-up for Chelsea once again when they face Newcastle in midweek, this time in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. The next Premier League fixture for the Blues comes against Manchester United on Sunday, with the Red Devils recently parting company with manager Erik ten Hag.