Reece James is available for Chelsea's trip to Liverpool on Sunday after recovering from a hamstring injury. The 24-year-old hasn't played a single minute of football this season after sustaining the problem on the eve of their Premier League opener against Manchester City.

It was another frustrating setback for James, who had missed a staggering 83 matches over the last three years due to a serious of injuries and fitness issues. He has been unavailable for 11 more at the start of this campaign - including the first seven in the Premier League - but the Chelsea captain is now back.

James was spotted on the grass with his teammates earlier this week and now Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed that the England international is fit to face Liverpool at Anfield. It could be his first appearances since his red card in the 2-0 win over Brighton at the back end of last season.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Maresca said: "He is available. He worked with us through the international break. Finally, he is back. It's complicated when you get injuries again and again.

"It's not easy - you are always looking for a solution. The solution with Reece is the same we are using with Wes and Romeo; using them in one game per week. Reece's body, at the moment, cannot play twice a week."

With James working himself back to full fitness, Maresca reiterated that he can only be used once a week, meaning he is unlikely to feature in Europa Conference League or Carabao Cup matches.

Maresca added: "In this moment, this can be the solution. In the future, I don't know. The solution is to allow him to go slowly and then in the future we can use him more."

Elsewhere, Carney Chukwuemeka, Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke are expected to be available after picking up minor issues before the international break. Both Colwill and Madueke played for England over the two-week hiatus, while Chukwuemeka hasn't featured this month due to illness.

Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are set to miss out with both players serving one-match suspensions after picking up their fifth booking of the season before the international break.

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