Reece James is widely considered one of the most talented players in the Premier League, but has seen his body fail him time and time again during his career so far.
After an excellent season with Wigan Athletic on loan, the England international returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2019 with hopes high over his potential future at Stamford Bridge.
He was considered the future of Chelsea’s defence, with the likes of Tino Livramento and Tariq Lamptey both leaving the club to search for first-team football instead of trying to compete with James for a spot in the starting XI.
However, he has had some terrible luck with injuries, being restricted to 162 appearances for the club across five years and missing the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship after failing to prove his fitness.
Also missing the start of the 2024/25 Premier League season through an ankle injury, he returned to the fold before suffering another setback ahead of a November 2024 trip to Leicester City.
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But how bad have his injuries been? With help from Transfermarkt data, we take a look at every game that the 24-year-old has missed since the start of the 2021/22 campaign.
Hamstring injury, 12 games missed December 29, 2021 to February 24, 2022
After a strong start to the 2021/22 campaign from James, it all began to go wrong for him at the turn of the year. A hamstring injury saw him forced off just 27 minutes into a clash with Brighton, and subsequently saw him miss five Premier League games.
Alongside those, James also missed Chelsea’s Club World Cupsuccess and four cup games, though his side managed to win all four in his absence. He was also forced to watch on as Chelsea entered the Champions League knockout stages, beating Lille 2-0 in their last-16 first-leg clash.
But he returned to action at the beginning of March, featuring in the FA Cup against Luton Town and in the Premier League against Burnley, where he played 70 minutes. Then, disaster struck again.
Chelsea 2-2 Liverpool
2nd January 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
5th January 2022
EFL Cup
Chelsea 5-1 Chesterfield
8th January 2022
FA Cup
Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea
12th January 2022
EFL Cup
Man City 1-0 Chelsea
15th January 2022
Premier League
Brighton 1-1 Chelsea
18th January 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
23rd January 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 2-1 Plymouth
5th February 2022
FA Cup
Al-Hilal 0-1 Chelsea
9th February 2022
Club World Cup
Chelsea 2-1 Palmeiras
12th February 2022
Club World Cup
Crystal Palace 0-1 Chelsea
19th February 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 2-0 Lille
22nd February 2022
Champions League
Muscle injury, 4 games missed March 3, 2022 to March 21, 2022
Immediately after the Burnley win, James was once again sidelined through a muscle injury, likely a recurrence of his hamstring issue. His absence was just four games this time around.
The Chelsea defender watched on from the stands as his side faced their second-leg clash with Lille, a pair of Premier League games against Norwich and Newcastle United, and an FA Cup quarter-final tie with Middlesbrough, once again winning each time.
Norwich 1-3 Chelsea
10th March 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 1-0 Newcastle
13th March 2022
Premier League
Lille 1-2 Chelsea
16th March 2022
Champions League
Middlesbrough 0-2 Chelsea
19th March 2022
FA Cup
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James missed just one more game that season, pulling out of a clash with West Ham United thanks to a troublesome hamstring once more, but he completed the season strongly and looked to have recovered from his injury concerns.
He again began the new campaign strongly, starting six of Chelsea’s first seven Premier League games in 2022/23, only for injury woes to strike once more in the Champions League.
Chelsea 1-0 West Ham
24th April 2022
Premier League
Knee injury, 9 games missed October 11, 2022 to December 12, 2022
Forced off against Milan an hour into their Champions League group game, it emerged that James had suffered a knee injury, something that would sideline him for two months and eventually rule him out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for the 2022 World Cup, which took place that winter.
It was a blow to James but also Chelsea, who were without their talisman defender for nine games. Of those games, they won just three, and just one in the Premier League as their early-season form dropped off a cliff at the hands of Newcastle, Arsenal and Brighton.
They were also knocked out of the EFL Cup by Manchester City before the Premier League halted for the World Cup. But that wasn’t the end of James’ problems.
Aston Villa 0-2 Chelsea
16th October 2022
Premier League
Brentford 0-0 Chelsea
19th October 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd
22nd October 2022
Premier League
RB Salzburg 1-2 Chelsea
25th October 2022
Champions League
Brighton 4-1 Chelsea
29th October 2022
Premier League
Chelsea 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb
2nd November 2022
Champions League
Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal
6th November 2022
Premier League
Man City 2-0 Chelsea
9th November 2022
EFL Cup
Newcastle 1-0 Chelsea
12th November 2022
Premier League
Knee injury, 6 games missed December 27, 2022 to January 31, 2023
Returning between Christmas and New Year, James’ recovery lasted just 53 minutes as he picked up another knee injury in the first post-World Cup clash against Bournemouth, sidelining him once more.
It was less serious this time around, with the Chelsea defender missing just six games, though again his side struggled in his absence. They exited the FA Cup – once more at the hands of Manchester City – and won just one of their five Premier League games without him in the starting XI.
However, it seemed as though his knee problems were behind him as he returned to the setup in February 2023.
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea
1st January 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 0-1 Man City
5th January 2023
Premier League
Man City 4-0 Chelsea
8th January 2023
FA Cup
Fulham 2-1 Chelsea
12th January 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace
15th January 2023
Premier League
Liverpool 0-0 Chelsea
21st January 2023
Premier League
Injury and illness, 2 games missed March 1, 2023 to March 15, 2023
A hamstring flare-up saw Reece James miss Chelsea’s Premier League game against Leeds United in March 2023, before returning as they turned around a first-leg deficit against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. However, he would then miss out on their trip to Leicester the following weekend due to illness.
Chelsea 1-0 Leeds
4th March 2023
Premier League
Leicester 1-3 Chelsea
11th March 2023
Premier League
Hamstring injury, 7 games missed April 25, 2023 to May 31, 2023
With Chelsea sacking Graham Potter and welcoming back Frank Lampard to the club, James missed most of the former midfielder’s second spell in charge after picking up yet another hamstring injury. It came following the Blues’ Champions League exit to Real Madrid in April 2023.
He completed 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge but didn’t feature again for the Blues that season, missing the final seven games of the campaign and watching as his side won just once to finish in mid-table.
Chelsea 0-2 Brentford
26th April 2023
Premier League
Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea
2nd May 2023
Premier League
Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea
6th May 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 2-2 Nottingham Forest
13th May 2023
Premier League
Man City 1-0 Chelsea
21st May 2023
Premier League
Man Utd 4-1 Chelsea
25th May 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
28th May 2023
Premier League
Hamstring injury, 8 games missed August 13, 2023 to October 6, 2023
Named club captain by incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino, hopes were high around James after he enjoyed a strong pre-season, but those hopes lasted just 73 Premier League minutes before he was forced off in their opening-day clash with Liverpool, a game his side went on to draw.
Once again, it was his hamstring causing him problems, and the defender was sidelined for a significant period of the season. The Chelsea man missed a total of nine successive games, including six Premier League outings and EFL Cup clashes with Brighton and AFC Wimbledon.
After serving a brief suspension, he returned in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal and appeared to have shaken off any issues in the months that followed. However, disaster struck in December for the defender and Chelsea.
West Ham 3-1 Chelsea
20th August 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 3-0 Luton
25th August 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 2-1 AFC Wimbledon
30th August 2023
EFL Cup
Chelsea 0-1 Nottingham Forest
2nd September 2023
Premier League
Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea
17th September 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 0-1 Aston Villa
24th September 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 1-0 Brighton
27th September 2023
EFL Cup
Fulham 0-2 Chelsea
2nd October 2023
Premier League
Hamstring surgery, 29 games missed December 11, 2023 to May 10, 2024
26 minutes into a clash with Everton at Goodison Park, Reece James’ season was effectively ended. The defender was substituted early on during his side’s 3-0 defeat after the recurrence of a hamstring injury, and the club and player made the decision for him to undergo surgery in an attempt to fix the issue.
It was just the second time he had started a game for Chelsea since his last injury, but his fifth hamstring injury in 18 months eventually persuaded him to seek medical assistance in a bid to end his problems once and for all.
“The footballing world knew I got injured but the procedure I would go down this time took slightly longer to figure out the best solution,” James wrote on his Instagram.
“I had surgery today to try fix my reoccurring hamstring issue, the recovery has started, both physically and mentally.”
Though Pochettino was keen not to put a timeframe on his recovery, James didn’t return to action until the third-last game of the season, before being sent off in the penultimate game and missing the final clash of the Argentinian’s reign through suspension.
Chelsea 2-0 Sheff Utd
16th December 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 1-1 Newcastle
19th December 2023
EFL Cup
Wolves 2-1 Chelsea
24th December 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 2-1 Crystal Palace
27th December 2023
Premier League
Luton 2-3 Chelsea
30th December 2023
Premier League
Chelsea 4-0 Preston
6th January 2024
FA Cup
Middlesbrough 1-0 Chelsea
9th January 2024
EFL Cup
Chelsea 1-0 Fulham
13th January 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 6-1 Middlesbrough
23rd January 2024
EFL Cup
Chelsea 0-0 Aston Villa
26th January 2024
FA Cup
Liverpool 4-1 Chelsea
31st January 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 2-4 Wolves
4th February 2024
Premier League
Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea
7th February 2024
FA Cup
Crystal Palace 1-3 Chelsea
12th February 2024
Premier League
Man City 1-1 Chelsea
17th February 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
25th February 2024
EFL Cup
Chelsea 3-2 Leeds
28th February 2024
FA Cup
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
2nd March 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 3-2 Newcastle
11th March 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 4-2 Leicester
17th March 2024
FA Cup
Chelsea 2-2 Burnley
30th March 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 4-3 Man Utd
4th April 2024
Premier League
Sheff Utd 2-2 Chelsea
7th April 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 6-0 Everton
15th April 2024
Premier League
Man City 1-0 Chelsea
20th April 2024
FA Cup
Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea
23rd April 2024
Premier League
Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea
27th April 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 2-0 Tottenham
2nd May 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 5-0 West Ham
5th May 2024
Premier League
Hamstring injury, 11 games missed August 9, 2024 to October 14, 2024
Despite undergoing surgery in a bid to fix his hamstring issue, James was once again sidelined with hamstring problems at the beginning of the 2024/25 campaign as the defender was sidelined during pre-season training, summing up his woeful misfortune on the injury front.
He was still serving a suspension for his red card at the end of the 2023/24 campaign, but was forced to watch on for another eight games across all competitions as new boss Enzo Maresca made a strong start to his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
Returning to action after the November international break against Liverpool, James started two more games for Chelsea and came on as a late substitute against Arsenal before his latest setback.
Chelsea 0-2 Man City
18th August 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 2-0 Servette
22nd August 2024
Conference League
Wolves 2-6 Chelsea
25th August 2024
Premier League
Servette 2-1 Chelsea
29th August 2024
Conference League
Chelsea 1-1 Crystal Palace
1st September 2024
Premier League
Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea
14th September 2024
Premier League
West Ham 0-3 Chelsea
21st September 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 5-0 Barrow
24th September 2024
EFL Cup
Chelsea 4-2 Brighton
28th September 2024
Premier League
Chelsea 4-2 Gent
3rd October 2024
Conference League
Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest
6th October 2024
Premier League