A horrible new fact about Chelsea favourite’s injury spell shows just how bad it must have been | OneFootball

Reece James’ return from injury today was a moment to celebrate, but in his interview after the game he revealed there had been some dark moments too.

He’s suffered so many problems over the last few years that it was decided he should have an operation in order to try and clear things up long term. But it’s not as simple as that.

According to the full back, the process of recovering from his hamstring surgery too close to double what it was predicted to take after the operation in January.

“The process has been really slow. At the start, they told me I was probably out for three months,” James told Chelsea TV.

“It’s been five months, so it’s taken its toll on my head as well. It’s been tough, but I’m so happy to be back and fit now.”

Reece James celebrates his return to action.

A light at the end of the tunnel at last

It’s been a long hard road back for him, as he revealed. Footballers often talk about the fact that the hard part of suffering a long term injury is just as much mental as physical. They desperately want to be out there playing and helping their team but they can’t.

Having a deadline which keeps getting extended can’t help either, and that’s especially true in James’ case as he must have been watching the weeks tick by, knowing his chances of making it into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the Euros this summer was evaporating with every passing game.

The fact that this was just the latest in a series of bad injuries must have compounded the misery too. Still, he made the perfect return today, and it was great to see him beaming after the game. Here’s hoping he can continue to make an impact in these final two matches.