The Reece James problem that Roy Keane and Gary Neville both agree on
Reece James is currently on England duty at the World Cup
Reece James is currently on England duty at the World Cup
Gary Neville says Reece James would be England’s greatest-ever right-back if he wasn’t injury prone while Roy Keane has questioned the Chelsea captain’s training programme.
James has been an ever-present in the Blues first-team for six years, having enjoyed a successful loan spell at Wigan during the 2018-19 season.
Having come through the Blues youth ranks, he’s a Stamford Bridge favourite. The 26-year-old has won the Champions League, as well as the Conference League, the Super Sup and Club World Cup, and is now club captain.
But despite his success, he’s had plenty of injury problems that have hindered him and prevented him from becoming a regular in the England side.
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He’s won 27 caps and is part of the Three Lions squad that have reached the semi-finals of this summer’s World Cup. The defender started the tournament as first-choice right-back but picked up another knock.
Despite impressing off the bench on his return in Saturday night’s quarter-final win over Norway, Neville still has concerns over his injury record.
Speaking about James and Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw on Stick to Football, brought to you by Sky Bet, Neville said: “If Reece James and Luke Shaw were fully fit at all times of their careers, they could be England’s best left back and right back ever.”
Manchester United legend Keane also got stuck into the debate and questioned the training programmes used by modern-day footballers.
He added: “(On the wave of injuries to players like Reece James and Luke Shaw) Maybe it’s the way they’re training – they all go and get these private coaches; they go to gyms.
“Are they robust enough to play games? There are a lot of footballers who look immaculate but aren’t flexing – they play ten games a season, they’re not robust.
“All these guys have their own fitness coaches, and I don’t think those coaches take them away from what the game’s actually about, which is training properly.
“A lot of the time they’re in the gym maybe doing the wrong exercises, or they get an injury and go off to Dubai to recover, instead of asking whether the player is actually robust enough.”
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