Enzo Maresca’s excuses about Reece James in midfield don’t wash says injury expert | OneFootball

Since returning from his latest injury in January. Reece James has been able to put together his longest run of fitness in a couple of years, and he’s become a regular in midfield for Enzo Maresca.

The manager has insisted that part of the reason he’s used James there (largely in the B team which plays in the Conference League) is that it is a less physically challenging position than right wing back, where he played before.

James just a B team player now says expert

Reece James in action against Legia Warsaw. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

But injury expert Ben Dinnery doubts that. He said it was likely more a question of just seeing a space in midfield in his B team for James to fill:

“I doubt Enzo Maresca will be willing to adapt or change his philosophy to accommodate just one player. I think what we’re seeing is that the manager is picking and choosing which games to expose Reece James in, rather than moving him into midfield to limit his injuries.”

As he points out, central midfield isn’t much less taxing than wing back in terms of explosive actions which can cause problems.

Midfield just as taxing as full back claims injury guru

“Physically he’ll still be working hard in midfield in terms of those high intensity runs and explosive breaks, so I do just believe that the decision to not have him in the team for some games is just personal preference. He’s always been a player who can only feature in around 50% of Premier League games anyway, so he’s probably identified characteristics of his physicality that are more suited to a midfield role every other game, rather than starting in the full-back position every fixture.”

So is Maresca just letting James down softly by making him a second choice player? Or does he really have some medical reasoning in not using him as he usually would? It’s hard to say…