Reece James

[The Purley King]

Wear, tear, ligaments issues. At the very high level you'd expect these clubs to have the very best physios to hand. What they're doing obviously isn't working, his training and prep is going to have to change even more so now.

I wonder if he does yoga and things like that.
I remember giggs had bad hamstring issues and it turned out sitting in a Ferrari for however long a day wasn’t good for them and when he got a car he could sit upright in it got a lot better.
Maybe it’s something as simple as that.

 

[Bluelion7]

I still think he’s carrying too much weight, especially for the position he plays. He looks like an NFL running back.

Herschel Walker used to take ballet classes to deal with similar issues. But even then … that was to play RB, not the twisting, constantly running, tendon stretching position that is RWB.

 

[SilentWitness]

I want to see what happens with DCL first but Dyche has taken an approach with him where although he’s been ‘fit’ for a couple of weeks now, he’s tried to get him to maximum fitness levels before bringing him back into the side. We have been massively guilty of rushing him back, as have chelsea with James. Is it worth possibly trying that? I suppose preseason makes that possible for you.

DCL should be back this weekend after his ‘rehab’ so will see how that goes but I do think James probably needs to start being managed accordingly with his fitness.

Perhaps he can be on reduced training or another programme

 

[WeePat]

He could be out for months again.

 

[Abraxas]

Real shame. For Chelsea and England really as he's a quality player but it seems like he'll be consistently injured in his career. Some players are just like that, I think genetics comes into it.

 

[Zaphod2319]

Gusto was such a smart acquisition.

 

[RedStarUnited]

I still think he’s carrying too much weight, especially for the position he plays. He looks like an NFL running back.

Herschel Walker used to take ballet classes to deal with similar issues. But even then … that was to play RB, not the twisting, constantly running, tendon stretching position that is RWB.

 

[Rajiztar]

He could be out for months again.

Think it may be precaution. No scan or anything yet confirmed. So hope he will be okay. Some rumours suggest need to analyse further on day to day basis in training. So if he able train may be not too serious. And easing him slowly will be good.

 

[Gringo]

What was the average distance covered back in his playing days ? If it was even tracked ? Football continues to be ever more physically demanding and its not helping as we're seeing with the amount of ligament issues.

 

[LARulz]

Him supposedly missing more games than Martial in the last 2 years is mental

 

[Maluco]

I actually don’t think that’s the same body type at all, not to mention the fact that he is over 10cm shorter.

Carlos was quite slim on top and just had large calves and thighs. I would hazard a guess that James has more than 10 kilos on a prime Carlos.

 

[Ayoba]

I actually don’t think that’s the same body type at all, not to mention the fact that he is over 10cm shorter.

Carlos was quite slim on top and just had large calves and thighs. I would hazard a guess that James has more than 10 kilos on a prime Carlos.

You might be onto something, a quick Google search reveals that Roberto Carlos' weight during his playing days was 73kg, which James weight is currently 91kg

 

[lilcurt]

Great player but broken...

On the path of the Jones career

 

[autopilot]

You might be onto something, a quick Google search reveals that Roberto Carlos' weight during his playing days was 73kg, which James weight is currently 91kg

That sounds very high. I'd estimate him to be somewhere around 82-84 kg, but I of course don't have any official source, just guesstimating.
A real shame about his injury.

 

[tomaldinho1]

That sounds very high. I'd estimate him to be somewhere around 82-84 kg, but I of course don't have any official source, just guesstimating.
A real shame about his injury.

Yeah that's way too high, he's not that tall would have thought he's mid 80's as well. If it is the correct weight it would be a strain on his body playing football, that's too heavy for his height.

 

[simonhch]

I would guess this isn’t actually a problem with his hamstrings. Or calves. Which is where I believe he gets most of his injuries. I remember Giggs had chronic hamstring injuries and the problem turned out to be in his back. The whole posterior chain is connected, and I would suggest that to get to the bottom of his recurrent injuries, they need to take a holistic approach to muscle imbalances, tightness, and dysfunctionality. He could have a significant imbalance between hamstrings and quadriceps etc. There are a whole host of interconnected issues that modern clubs have the technology to expose. He may also have comparatively weak stabiliser muscles or hip flexors. Or overly tight ones etc etc. it’s too persistent not to be some underlying cause and just be bad luck. I don’t really buy the “He’s too heavy” thing.

 

[Ish]

Unlucky. Hopefully he sorts it out and/or his game time is managed around his struggles. He’s a massive talent.

 

[Bluelion7]

I actually don’t think that’s the same body type at all, not to mention the fact that he is over 10cm shorter.

Carlos was quite slim on top and just had large calves and thighs. I would hazard a guess that James has more than 10 kilos on a prime Carlos.

Yes, this. Reece looks like he could throw up 350 on the bench press. The amount of upper body weight, specifically, seems much different to me.

I also think they, like a lot of sports medicine people, have gotten his treatment completely wrong. You can google it if you want, but there was a clinical study covering how badly the NFL managed hamstring issues. This is apparently especially true for people with chronic hamstring issues already who elect to not have surgery on a stabilizing element of the leg after injury (like the knee)… sounds familiar.

They need to revisit his entire treatment, going back years. I personally don’t want to hear about him trying to play this year.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

They'll just promote the vice-captain or whoever is next in line. But the captain of the squad is usually selected on longevity and standing amongst his peers. With Azpi leaving and the overall turmoil in the team, I can't think of another player with the credentials needed. Maybe Thiago.

Neville was captain for us during his "back in 2 weeks" phase, no one blinked, we just gave the band to Rio and kept it pushing.

They should give it to the player which has the longest contract.

 

[Marwood]

What was the average distance covered back in his playing days ? If it was even tracked ? Football continues to be ever more physically demanding and its not helping as we're seeing with the amount of ligament issues.

He's barely played football for years now. Heightened physical demands can't be the cause.

 

[WeePat]

They'll just promote the vice-captain or whoever is next in line. But the captain of the squad is usually selected on longevity and standing amongst his peers. With Azpi leaving and the overall turmoil in the team, I can't think of another player with the credentials needed. Maybe Thiago.

Neville was captain for us during his "back in 2 weeks" phase, no one blinked, we just gave the band to Rio and kept it pushing.

Thiago is on rolling one year deals. There’s a big chance this is his last season. No point giving him the captaincy. He’s the de facto leader of the squad anyway, armband or not. Besides him, it would have been between James, Chilwell and Kepa. Everyone else has been at the club for 12 months or less or they’re academy products who aren’t regular first choice players yet. For James was a no brainer. I always said it was him or Mount.

 

[RedStarUnited]

I was only replying in jest with the R Carlos picture.

I know a few people have tried to diagnose it above but he might just not be lucky with injuries. We all probably take for granted how lucky Messi and Ronaldo were in this aspect, they have averaged 55-60 games a season over 20 years!

 

[MackRobinson]

Some people are just injury prone. I had to stop playing sports b/c of this. After lots of muscle pulls and sprained ankles, tearing my ACL was the last straw. Even now I still pick injuries working out or running. No matter how careful you are will training and rehab some athletes are just fragile.

 

[MackRobinson]

I'm no expert, but he seems really muscular- more so than most CF's and CB's. I'd imagine that being a powerfully built dude who has to cover an awful lot of ground as a RB must do is a recipe for injuries. It's a relentless position.

I read somewhere this was the issue with Michael Essien and his knee issues.

 

[Dirty Schwein]

Yikes. Feel for him. He really is made out of walkers crisps.

Maybe will need a therapist at this rate.

 

[Mogget]

Some people are just injury prone. I had to stop playing sports b/c of this. After lots of muscle pulls and sprained ankles, tearing my ACL was the last straw. Even now I still pick injuries working out or running. No matter how careful you are will training and rehab some athletes are just fragile.

There's usually an underlying reason why though.

Pretty awful news for him, he can't seem to catch a break

 

[V.O.]

I still think he’s carrying too much weight, especially for the position he plays. He looks like an NFL running back.

There's no way he's carrying more weight around than guys like Luke Shaw or Denzel Dumfries, neither of which have any recurring injury issues. Adama Traore is actually built like an NFL running back and doesn't have too many injury problems either.

There will just be something unfortunate in his genetics/biomechanics that is causing the problem.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Some people are just injury prone. I had to stop playing sports b/c of this. After lots of muscle pulls and sprained ankles, tearing my ACL was the last straw. Even now I still pick injuries working out or running. No matter how careful you are will training and rehab some athletes are just fragile.

Thats true.

I done my hamstring once while sprinting. Other than stupidly breaking my humeral shaft while arm wresting, I’ve had no niggly injuries / tweaks / pulls / sprains etc

 

[Bluelion7]

There's no way he's carrying more weight around than guys like Luke Shaw or Denzel Dumfries, neither of which have any recurring injury issues. Adama Traore is actually built like an NFL running back and doesn't have too many injury problems either.

There will just be something unfortunate in his genetics/biomechanics that is causing the problem.

Luke Shaw 165 lbs

Denzel dumphries 176 lbs

Adama Traore 191

Reece James 201

im not sure people realize how jacked up Reece actually is now

 

[UsualSuspect]

Luke Shaw 165 lbs

Denzel dumphries 176 lbs

Adama Traore 191

Reece James 201

im not sure people realize how jacked up Reece actually is now

This. I mean you can tell by the James genetics (dad and his sister as well) that they have a naturally heavy build. He came off against Liverpool with apparent fatigue. And I think, even though they already have tailor-made programs, they'll need to adjust his for sure. I would even go as far as moving him to midfield where he was outstanding for Wigan a few years ago.

 

[Bluelion7]

Some people are just injury prone. I had to stop playing sports b/c of this. After lots of muscle pulls and sprained ankles, tearing my ACL was the last straw. Even now I still pick injuries working out or running. No matter how careful you are will training and rehab some athletes are just fragile.

He has a very specific and, in hindsight, predictable pattern though. Big hamstring injury, then later reaggravated hamstring injury. No surgery, prp and cortico steroids and rest …. but probably too much stretching and back to fast, but too much of the steroids can lead to myopathy in the tissues and tendins.

All the while he used that time to keep lifting Weights, getting bigger, stronger and adding more torque to his legs.

Then a knee injury, which again they decided against surgery on. But when you go the non surgical route on a leg stabilizing injury, there is compensation stress on hamstrings that … never fully healed, and are possibly getting even more weakened by steroids and PRP treatments.

And Reece is shifting his energ, once again, to weights.

Knee heals, he’s dying to get back, but the whole time he’s been creating a timebomb in his hamstring . He’s jacked up, he’s probably over stretching it (which is a common mistake), it’s never fully healed correctly, and has been weakened by the treatment protocol.

Is that not the timeline? They keep thinking about “getting him back”. I’m sure he pushes for it as well. But at this point he probably needs surgery even if it’s not a full tear or rupture, and he needs the right healing protocol and timeframe.

And … a strength and fitness coordinator that steers him better.

I don’t know if you guys even know who Tim Tebow is, but his Freshman year of college he got so carried away with the lifting program before the coaches noticed that he had gotten big enough he was in danger of not being able to throw a football at all.

He had to be closely watched to keep his amount and type of lifting down.

They need to get Reece right. If it takes major changes and a full year of more? So be it.

 

[BerryBerryShrew]

It's amazing how good his cardio is considering how jacked he is. Adama Traore gasses after 10 minutes due to his build.

He's got incredible genetics, but it does lead to injuries. Needs to drop some of the muscle mass or the injuries will just keep piling up I fear.

 

[V.O.]

Luke Shaw 165 lbs

Denzel dumphries 176 lbs

Adama Traore 191

Reece James 201

im not sure people realize how jacked up Reece actually is now

If you believe those figures I've got a bridge to sell you.

Reece James looks like this:

Spoiler

Adama Traore looks like this:

Spoiler

They're the same height. No universe exists where James is carrying more weight. Also, Luke Shaw hasn't been 165 lbs since he was in school. Those numbers aren't even close to reality.

 

[Orc]

If you believe those figures I've got a bridge to sell you.

Reece James looks like this:

Spoiler

Adama Traore looks like this:

Spoiler

They're the same height. No universe exists where James is carrying more weight. Also, Luke Shaw hasn't been 165 lbs since he was in school. Those numbers aren't even close to reality.

Doesn’t muscle weigh more than fat? Luke Shaw is fat whereas Reece is jacked. So it wouldn’t be surprising if James was heavier.

 

[V.O.]

Doesn’t muscle weigh more than fat? Luke Shaw is fat whereas Reece is jacked. So it wouldn’t be surprising if James was heavier.

To be fair, Shaw has actually lost quite a bit of weight in the last year or so, I can probably buy James being heavier than him now, but certainly nothing close to 36 lbs heavier as those numbers are trying to say.

Point is, he's been carrying a lot of timber around for a lot of years and it hasn't made him injury prone. Dumfries is massive and not injury prone. Traore has a physique that belongs in a WWE ring more than a football pitch and hasn't had issues outside from his stamina.

I don't think you can blame James getting too jacked for his injury issues at all.

 

[Bluelion7]

He has a very specific and, in hindsight, predictable pattern though. Big hamstring injury, then later reaggravated hamstring injury. No surgery, prp and cortico steroids and rest …. but probably too much stretching and back to fast, but too much of the steroids can lead to myopathy in the tissues and tendins.

All the while he used that time to keep lifting Weights, getting bigger, stronger and adding more torque to his legs.

Then a knee injury, which again they decided against surgery on. But when you go the non surgical route on a leg stabilizing injury, there is compensation stress on hamstrings that … never fully healed, and are possibly getting even more weakened by steroids and PRP treatments.

And Reece is shifting his energ, once again, to weights.

Knee heals, he’s dying to get back, but the whole time he’s been creating a timebomb in his hamstring . He’s jacked up, he’s probably over stretching it (which is a common mistake), it’s never fully healed correctly, and has been weakened by the treatment protocol.

Is that not the timeline? They keep thinking about “getting him back”. I’m sure he pushes for it as well. But at this point he probably needs surgery even if it’s not a full tear or rupture, and he needs the right healing protocol and timeframe.

And … a strength and fitness coordinator that steers him better.

I don’t know if you guys even know who Tim Tebow is, but his Freshman year of college he got so carried away with the lifting program before the coaches noticed that he had gotten big enough he was in danger of not being able to throw a football at all.

He had to be closely watched to keep his amount and type of lifting down.

They need to get Reece right. If it takes major changes and a full year of more? So be it.

If you believe those figures I've got a bridge to sell you.

Reece James looks like this:

Spoiler

Adama Traore looks like this:

Spoiler

They're the same height. No universe exists where James is carrying more weight. Also, Luke Shaw hasn't been 165 lbs since he was in school. Those numbers aren't even close to reality.

You obviously don’t know a great deal about physiology. Adama Traore “looks” very muscular, but that doesn’t guarantee either greater strength or weight. Adama looks like he adjusts his lifts for show (stopping halfway down every other curl, etc)

He looks ripped. BUT his bone density and muscle density maybe nowhere near Reece’s, which would, again, help explain part of the problem with his healing protocol

I am 50 years old, only 5’8”, 30 inch waist, exercise regularly, and have low body fat. I don’t lift regularly at all anymore, and I weigh 182 lbs. I have always had a very dense and heavy bone structure, and very dense muscle.

people are different. In aQ n A about why he is so “Buff” Traore said it was genetics; that his muscles have always gotten big very quickly. That usually means less density.

So, yes, I believe the weights.

 

[Bluelion7]

To be fair, Shaw has actually lost quite a bit of weight in the last year or so, I can probably buy James being heavier than him now, but certainly nothing close to 36 lbs heavier as those numbers are trying to say.

Point is, he's been carrying a lot of timber around for a lot of years and it hasn't made him injury prone. Dumfries is massive and not injury prone. Traore has a physique that belongs in a WWE ring more than a football pitch and hasn't had issues outside from his stamina.

I don't think you can blame James getting too jacked for his injury issues at all.

I shouldn’t have used the word “jacked”. I thought it would be one that painted the right picture, but it has obviously led everyone away from the point:

Reece has been adding dense weight and power to his upper body that is not only probably not necessary, it creates added torque and stress on unstable and still damaged tissues.

And while Adama Traore looks like a bowling ball, he doesn’t play fullback. And even with not playing FB, if we are using him for comparison, he is also starting to pick up hamstring injuries; let’s see if they cause a spiraling issue.

 

[Gringo]

It could even be down to the type of boots he wears and the pitches.

 

[WeePat]

Only a few weeks. Not as bad I feared.

 

[Dumbstar]

Only a few weeks. Not as bad I feared.

He was only 'rested' when he came off last Sunday. I wouldn't read too much into those reports. Keita and Thiago were always 'weeks away' from returning for the past few years.