Thomas Tuchel comments on “fully available” Chelsea player will still scare fans a little | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel has just announced his first England squad, and we’re not sure whether to be happy or sad.

Reece James has got his first call-up since March 2023 after a couple of injury devastated years, and we’re so happy he gets his reward for so much gruelling physio and so many setbacks.

On the other hand, this recent run is the most time we’ve had him available in years, and we’ve been treating him very carefully. Suddenly sending him off to work with England does seem a slight risk.

Tuchel – who worked with James up close at Chelsea and knows his limitations and weaknesses, assured everyone in his press conference that he and his staff had “triple checked” that the full back is “fully available.” We’re sure he’s not going to run him into the ground, and in fact perhaps this can be part of the continued ramping up of his minutes.

Tuchel’s quotes on James try to ease Chelsea fans’ fears

Thomas Tuchel speaking in his first England presser.

“Reece James works very hard to be in shape. The point about him is that he does not play so regularly lately, but it is due to the managing of his previous injury history,” Tuchel explained.

“He is fully available. We double-checked, triple-checked also with him personally and the club and medical department. There is no doubt about Reece’s quality and capability, what he can bring to us. As you all know, we want to be flexible and have a wider range. That’s why it was a pleasure to bring Reece back in.”

As someone who saw the absolute best of the Cobham product, we’re not surprised that Tuchel was ready to call James up right from the start. Hopefully he continues to be managed carefully both for club and country, and