Reece James will miss three months after surgery

Chelsea fans are down again, as their captain and defensive leader Reece James is forced to miss another lengthy period due to injury. The 26-year-old defender missed the match against Bournemouth because of damage sustained during one of the trainings. After the injury the player underwent a medical examination, the results of which led doctors to recommend surgery.

Currently James has already undergone surgery and has started his recovery. However, the rehabilitation process for the player may take up to 3 months, as has already become known to the English press. Thus, James is unlikely to appear on the field in 2026 and will miss the start of the new calendar year.

In the current season the English defender has played six matches for the Londoners in all competitions (4 of them – in the EPL), without registering any goal‑involved actions. The last time James took the field was on September 12 in a match against Hull City, which ended 2:2. In that match the player spent the full 90 minutes on the pitch.

Interesting (though very sad) fact. Reece James, due to injuries and illnesses, has already missed 844 days of his career at Chelsea. That's more than 2 years and 3 months.

As for James's stats in Fantasy Premier League, the defender has a modest 3 points to his name. So finding an alternative to Reece, if you have him in your squad, we think, will not be difficult.

James is currently priced at 5.3 million, and for that amount you can buy the following defenders from Premier League teams:

• Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton) – 5.2 million (has already earned53 points at the start of the season)

• Jayden Bogle (Leeds) – 4.7 million (43 points)

• Luka Vuskovic (Brighton) – 5.1 million (40 points)

And these are just three options from the list of the most effective defenders by points in Fantasy Premier League. You can look for other options as well.

We remind you that earlier we suggested TOP-5 players to pick in Fantasy EPL for round 7.