Xabi Alonso provides Reece James injury update as Chelsea boss sends classy message

Xabi Alonso has spoken to the press ahead of Chelsea's clash against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Xabi Alonso has provided an update on Reece James ahead of Chelsea's clash against Everton. The Blues captain recently underwent successful minor surgery on a knee injury he sustained in the build-up to last weekend's win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

James has since begun a rehabilitation programme, where he'll work closely with the club's medical department at Cobham during his road to recovery. Speaking to reporters at Cobham training ground on Friday afternoon, the Chelsea manager wished his skipper well.

Alonso said: "We are all disappointed, especially for him. In the last training session. He picked up an injury. He will be close to the team, and he is a great influence.

"We wish him a good recovery. We don't give timelines. It won't be short; it will be a few weeks. We will see before Christmas, after Christmas, we will see."

Make sure you never miss the latest Chelsea news and opinion by making Football London one of your Google preferred sources.

The Spaniard added: "We have until the next break. Four more PL games. A cup game as well. We will be able to manage well with the options we have. The others are available. We feel good."

As a result, the England international, who has not featured since the draw to Hull City back in September, will be unavailable for selection when the Blues face David Moyes' side at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Prior to Chelsea's defeat against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium just before the international break, James had missed open training, but Alonso downplayed concerns at the time.

The Cobham graduate was then left out of the England squad, missing Nations League clashes against Spain, Croatia, and the Czech Republic, home and away. In the absence of James, the Blues manager deployed Jordan Henderson, who, fortunately enough, has hit the ground running.

Speaking to reporters last weekend, Alonso showered the 36-year-old midfielder with praise and commented on the importance of his relationship with Moises Caicedo.

"Both in terms of qualities are different, in terms of the positioning as well," said Alonso. "I think that they help each other well, and they give presence, they give stability.

"You know that they are going to be the ones [who] are going to be helping the rest. Not just for their qualities, because they understand the game.

"They can play in shorter spaces, but defensively, they give good balance. For me, it's fundamental that we get that area strong, and for sure, with Moises, Hendo played today, it was his second game.

"Romeo [Lavia] as well, he played good minutes, Reece has played there a little bit for some minutes, and [Valentin] Barco, so we need to keep building around that."