Chelsea team news: Reece James back in full training ahead Fulham trip

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Reece James is pushing for a return for Chelsea against Fulham after this week taking part in full training.

The right-back has been out since suffering a hamstring strain in the Boxing Day defeat to Arsenal.

He was close to making his comeback against Morecambe in the FA Cup last weekend, but Frank Lampard and the club’s medical staff believed it was too soon in his recovery.

The Chelsea manager will provide an update ahead of Saturday’s game against Fulham, but James has been running without discomfort as the squad prepare for the trip to Craven Cottage.

James’ injury coincided with arguably his worst performance of the season, when he was guilty of conceding a reckless penalty in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Lampard was furious with his players’ application in that game. James was likely to be left out of the fixture against Aston Villa just 48 hours later as Lampard looked to manage the amount of playing time over the hectic Christmas schedule.

But his performance at the Emirates would not have helped his chances of keeping his place.

Lampard is hoping the 4-0 win against Morecambe will kick start Chelsea’s season after an alarming run of four defeats in six games has seen them drop from top to ninth.

Fulham showed their threat when stunning Tottenham on Wednesday night - earning a 1-1 draw after going behind to a first half goal from Harry Kane.

But Lampard hopes a win will boost morale in his squad.

He said: “It will give us a bit of confidence, but I don't want to overstate that because of the nature of the game. We've had a period where we haven't had a good run, and we need to get better results. And the only way out for us is to work hard, and the lads worked hard this week in training.”

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