Chelsea defender Reece James targets return against Crystal Palace

Reece James is hoping to return to the Chelsea fold for their next league game following the Club World Cup against Crystal Palace.

England star James has been out with a hamstring injury since the end of December, missing Chelsea's last nine games, but is on the verge of handing Thomas Tuchel a major boost and could be back in contention for the trip to Selhurst Park on Saturday week.

Chelsea have been patient regarding James's recovery and the process has also been slowed by the defender suffering a bout of flu.

But a return to full fitness after the Club World Cup would be timely with Chelsea heading into a crucial period in their season.

Their Champions League campaign resumes against Lille three days after they face Palace. They then meet Liverpool in the EFL Cup final on February 27.

James has been in brilliant form this term, scoring five times and setting up six further goals for Chelsea from right-wing back.

His absence along with that longer term of Ben Chilwell due to a knee injury have deprived Tuchel of two of his biggest threats.

The Chelsea head coach has been forced to occasionally move away from his preferred tactical system in recent weeks without his first-choice wing-back pair.

Having played a significant role in the Champions League triumph that earned Chelsea's qualification, James and Chilwell are in Abu Dhabi with the rest of their teammates for the Club World Cup.

The mini-tournament has come too soon for James to feature in though he has been able to train and continue working his way back to full fitness as he closes in on his comeback.

Chelsea will meet Brazilian's Palmeiras in Saturday's Club World Cup final after seeing off Al-Hilal 1-0 in Wednesday's semi-final.