December 24, (THEWILL) – Reece James underwent successful hamstring surgery last week that is expected to have him fully fit ahead of the Euro 2024 tournament, according to Lasse Lempainen, the Finnish surgeon who performed the procedure.
The surgery, which took place in Turku, Finland on Friday, aimed to repair James’ problematic right hamstring, which has seen the 24-year-old miss 37 games for Chelsea over the last few seasons. Lempainen stated that after “careful consideration”, it was agreed by all parties that surgery was the best option to treat the reoccurring injury.
“We are convinced it was the right treatment decision and we are now all happy that we did the right thing,” Lempainen told the Telegraph. “I am very convinced that Reece will be in top shape before the European Championship.”
While Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino will decide when James returns, Lempainen estimates the rehabilitation period to be around three to four months. This would place the right-back on track for Gareth Southgate’s England squad at Euro 2024.
During James’ absence, centre-back Axel Disasi has filled in at right-back for Chelsea. Pochettino also has summer signing Malo Gusto as an option to provide more attacking thrust from the position. Part of James’ tailored rehabilitation programme will focus on minimising future hamstring injury risks.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
