Why Reece James missed Chelsea's FA Cup defeat to Brighton | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has insisted Reece James' absence from Saturday's defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion was simply part of his recovery plan.

James was left out completely as Chelsea were sent crashing out of the FA Cup, sparking concerns that the club captain had suffered yet another injury blow. He has only recently returned from his second hamstring issue of the season and has missed more than half of every Premier League campaign since 2021/22.

His tricky injury record prompted obvious concerns about James' condition when he was nowhere to be seen on Saturday, but Maresca has insisted there is nothing for Chelsea fans to worry about.

"It was planned," Maresca said of James' absence. "He is okay. He is training, it was just to protect him a little bit to avoid injury again."

Maresca has made a point of trying to ease players with long-term concerns back into action this season. Both midfielder Romeo Lavia and centre-back Wesley Fofana have been kept out of the Conference League squad all season, with Maresca admitting neither player is capable of playing two games in a single week.

James, who does feature in the Conference League squad for the second half of the season, has managed nine appearances across all competitions thus far.