- James has endured nightmare 2022-23
- Posted on Instagram promising "better" next year
- Diary entry labelled season as "sh*t"
WHAT HAPPENED? The 23-year-old has experienced a testing 2022-23 campaign, amassing just 24 appearances for the Blues across all competitions. Repeated injuries to his knee and hamstring saw him sidelined for England's 2022 World Cup campaign and, having not featured for Chelsea since mid-April, James was once again vocal in his frustrations, posting an image on Instagram vowing that "better will come" next campaign.
As a part of that post, a section of a diary entry from May 18 was included which read: "Many people won't ever know what it's like but it's a crazy journey, full of highs and lows. Where do I sit in that [at the moment], currently the lowest of my lows in my career so far. It's sh*t but with hard work and patience things will improve, without rain nothing grows!"
THE BIGGER PICTURE: It's not the first time James has gone public over what has been a nightmare season for the Chelsea full-back. He called 2022 "the toughest year to date" after being forced to miss Gareth Southgate's England squad, and recently apologised to the Blues faithful over his absences this term.
WHAT NEXT FOR JAMES? While it is through no fault of his own, James was sorely missed this season, as Chelsea fell to their worst-ever Premier League finish on the back of four different managerial appointments. Incoming Lyon man Malo Gusto will provide fresh cover in the right-back position, although the 20-year-old has only recently recovered from a hamstring problem of his own.