‘She was exceptional’ - Emma Hayes lauds ‘outrageous’ Lauren James after Chelsea debut
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Updated 19/11/2021 at 16:16 GMT
Having struggled with injuries since signing from Manchester United in the summer, James made her long-awaited debut as a late substitute against Servette in the Champions League. Afterwards, her manager was full of praise for her performance even though Chelsea could only muster up a narrow 1-0 win.
Lauren James has finally made her first appearance for Chelsea
Image credit: Getty Images
After a frustrating start to her Chelsea career, Lauren James made her long-awaited debut against Swiss side Servette in the Champions League on Thursday evening.
Having signed for the reigning WSL champions from Manchester United back in July, James has been forced to spend her first few months with the Blues working her way up to full fitness following various injury problems.
James, 20, has previously been shortlisted for the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year and, having been instrumental in United’s promotion from the Women’s Championship and subsequent success, expectations are high.
Getting herself match fit has been a long and arduous process, however. Speaking to the club website earlier this month, she explained: “I’ve had a few injuries in the past year, some reoccurring ones. Reoccurring ones are more annoying than a new injury.
“I’ve been trying to find my feet again so I can stay on the pitch. My main goal is to stay fit and stay on the pitch.
“I’ve been working on my injuries wherever I had them, to make those areas stronger so I can prevent that happening again.
“Previously I haven’t taken as much time to get my body right. Coming in and having a good team around me to help get my body right and conditioned to be able to cope with what’s needed will help in the long run.”
James came on in the 85th minute against Servette, swapping in for Fran Kirby and helping Chelsea to see out a narrow 1-0 win. While Blues boss Emma Hayes was left with mixed emotions following an admittedly “difficult” victory, she reserved high praise for James after the game.
“She was exceptional,” said Hayes. “The ball stuck, she held it up really well, she linked really well and she could have scored two goals.
“We need to build her fitness, but she has shown that she can bring something to our team. Her technical qualities are outrageous and I am looking forward to building on her debut.”
Speaking earlier in the month, James admitted that going through a long rehabilitation programme so soon after arriving at the club was challenging. “When I look back, I think ‘How did I do it?’ because when you do it over and over again, it’s draining to do rehab every day,” she said.
“You are thinking about when you are going to be back on the pitch, but I’ve been lucky with this rehab. It’s not nice to have someone else injured but I’m lucky to have had Maren [Mjelde] with me… we’ve had each other to help us both through it, to push each other through it, and we’ve come away with a good friendship.
“All the staff have supported me, especially the medical team, and the players around me have helped. Being injured is quite a dark and lonely place, you feel isolated because you aren’t with the team. When the team go away, you are at home, but everyone has been great.
“They’ve been so positive, and they are always there if I need them. They have been there with all the positivity on those dark days. For example, against Manchester City when I travelled with them, it was nice [to get] the little comments from them saying they are so happy to have me back around the team again. It makes you feel good.”
All being well James will get more opportunities in the coming weeks, with Chelsea playing Birmingham City in the WSL on Sunday before taking part in the delayed Women’s FA Cup final against Arsenal in early December.
Chelsea’s next Champions League fixture comes three days later when they welcome Juventus, who are currently second in Group A, to Kingsmeadow. “If we win our games we qualify, that is our focus,” said Hayes, whose side are three points clear as things stand. “Juventus are improving and we look forward to playing them.”
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