November 2nd 2023.
Reece James made his first start for Chelsea since the opening weekend of the Premier League season against Blackburn Rovers. Mauricio Pochettino was delighted to see James make his return, but had to manage his minutes on the pitch as the defender had only recently recovered from injury.
Pochettino had initially hoped James would finish the match, but revealed that James asked to come off after an hour due to feeling tired. The Argentine manager admitted that he wanted to avoid taking any risks with James' health and said that he had to take a careful approach to increasing his minutes.
“The plan was to check at half-time how he feels and how he was,” said Pochettino. “After 15 minutes he started to feel tired and we were checking from the second half. He was a little bit tired and we need to be careful how we manage him. Of course, I think in that moment we decide to make that change. It is important now to make the progression and to be careful about not to go back.”
The manager went on to say that it was important to keep James fit and give him the chance to help the team. He believes that the defender is one of the best full backs in the world and was unlucky that he hadn't been able to play much since his return.
“The temptation is okay, come on go and play 90 minutes but we need to be careful. Little by little he is going to get fit and cope with the demand of the games,” said Pochettino.
James was able to help the Blues to a win against Blackburn Rovers and book their spot in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. They will now face Newcastle United and Pochettino will hope that he can continue to increase James' minutes as the season progresses.
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