Thomas Tuchel Delighted for Reece James Return Despite Having Won Titles in His Absence

Speaking after his side's Saturday afternoon win, Tuchel praised James for his instant impact upon his return to the action.

"We missed him for such a long time that we almost got used to it," said Tuchel, as quoted by football.london. "I think it was like nine weeks and we played something like 25 matches in that time.

"We were constantly trying to find solutions and we did find solutions as a team, and we managed to win games and even trophies in this period.

"But once he is back and plays three times, and first time from the beginning, you see what we missed.

"Huge quality and it's very impressive how decisive he is in training and in the games.

"These positions are very important positions if you play with this structure and it's the same on the left side.

"So it puts things into perspective when you see what we missed and I am very happy that he came back like this."

Chelsea's other wing-back, Ben Chilwell, has also been out since the first half of the season due to an ACL injury and is unlikely to return before the end of the current season.