Graham Potter says Reece James is "in a good place" again after the "brutal" experience of missing England's World Cup campaign.
Full-back James was left out of Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad for Qatar 2022, where England lost to France in the quarter-finals, due to a knee injury.
The 23-year-old has not played since sustaining the injury against Milan on October 11, but he returned to training at the start of December.
Potter acknowledged it has been a difficult period for James, who is set to feature against Bournemouth on Tuesday as Chelsea make their return to Premier League action.
"It was a World Cup and they come around every four years. So when you’re young, the perspective is not so easy to get," Potter said.
"You are young and you want to play. That's really understandable. It's the same for Reece, Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante. It's brutal really to have to deal with.
"You can try to help them and give them a bit of perspective but in the end it has to come from them, their families and those people close to them.
"I have to say he is in a good mood, he is in a good place. He has trained with us, is training well and is a good team-mate. He has dealt with it well.
"There is not too much you can say. You say it will get better with time and you have to focus on the things you can control.
"There is nothing you can say to a player that will make it get better. All I can do is acknowledge it is upsetting, that whatever he is feeling is normal and help him move forwards.
"It was a challenging period for all the players. There were another 12 that are watching their team-mates and getting injured and missing the World Cup.
"You have to think on some level there is an effect there. They're only human."
Potter confirmed he will continue to monitor James' playing time, though Wesley Fofana and Chilwell remain absent, while key midfield man Kante is out until February.
James has started half of Chelsea's 20 Premier League and Champions League games this season, with his absence from the side coinciding with a downturn in results.
"He's been training for a few weeks now and that helps," Potter added. "The tough time is when you can't play football because you're injured.
"For him, the best thing is that he is playing football and the World Cup is finished now and he can concentrate on playing football.
"He was in a really good place before he got injured. If you look at how the team was functioning before he got injured and after.
"It's not the only reason of course but Reece is a top, top player and when he is not with us it's a miss.
"I'm confident the more football he plays the more we will see what a fantastic footballer he really is."
FC Halifax back in the play-off places after draw with Oldham
FC Halifax moved back into the play-off places in the National League as Adan George rescued a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Oldham.
The visitors took the lead in the 18th minute through Dan Gardner’s half-volley from a corner before Rob Harker levelled for the home side a minute into first-half stoppage time, smashing the ball home.
Oldham were awarded a penalty when Joe Garner was fouled in the box and Gardner restored Latics’ lead from the penalty spot in the 58th minute, but The Shaymen levelled again in the 72nd minute through substitute George’s smart finish from a narrow angle.
Halifax climb back into the play-off spots on goal difference where they are tied on 68 points with Aldershot, while Oldham remain 10th.
Aldershot move into play-off places with victory at 10-man Gateshead
Kwame Thomas headed Aldershot into the National League play-off places in a 1-0 win away to a Gateshead side who played almost half the match with a defender deputising in goal.
Gateshead had goalkeeper Nathan Harness sent off in the 47th minute for bringing down James Daly outside the box and, with no stopper on the bench, Louis Storey went between the posts for the rest of the night.
Storey made a good save to keep out Cian Harries’ free-kick in the 51st minute, but could do nothing as the visitors took the lead 10 minutes later.
Thomas got on the end of a looping cross from Josh Barrett to head in, and it proved enough for a win that puts them one point above FC Halifax, who host Oldham on Thursday.
Respect the process – Cesc Fabregas committed to long-term plan at striving Como
Cesc Fabregas says Italian club Como must remain committed to their long-term plan even if their progress is expedited by winning promotion to Serie A this season.
The former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder is assistant manager at the lakeside club and, working under Welshman Osian Roberts, has guided them into the automatic promotion positions in Serie B.
They currently have a three-point lead over third-placed Venezia and if they do not falter in their final five games they will return to the top flight of Italian football for the first time since 2003.
The club have been declared bankrupt twice since then, but the 2019 takeover by Indonesian company Djarum Group heralded a new dawn.
They are owners with big ambitions and they sought out advice from people in the game, with Thierry Henry and Fabregas becoming minority shareholders, while former England international Dennis Wise has also acted in an advisory role.
Fabregas is currently earning his full coaching badges and his goals are aligned with the club’s.
Returning to the top tier of Italian football has always been the plan, with further ambitions of titles and European football in the coming years.
But Fabregas insists that will only happen if they “respect the process”.
“We are pushing, we have a clear vision of where we want to go, where we want to get, we know who we are,” he told the PA news agency.
“We know where we are at the moment and we need to respect the process, take the right steps.
“We are working well, people are very dedicated, the owners are investing well and smartly.
“We are all on the same page, evolving every single week to try and create this family, this union, let’s see where we are at the season.”
When Fabregas joined Como as a player in the summer of 2022, it could have been easy to think he was easing into retirement in an idyllic part of the world.
View this post on InstagramBut that would not be fitting with his work ethic and drive, which sees him one day wanting to be a manager in his own right.
“I agree that Como is beautiful but if I am being honest my life is work, home, work, home,” he said.
“Then when I am home I try to be with my family. Even if I was at the end of the world or in another place my life would not change that much.
“Como is beautiful, we appreciate it so much but my job and my life doesn’t change too much.”
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