For long spells this season the Blues had to make do without our right-back and skipper as he recovered from a hamstring injury suffered in pre-season.

After briefly featuring in later October and early November, James then returned to the squad in last month’s FA Cup third round tie at Stamford Bridge, playing the first 45 minutes of that 5-0 win over Morecambe.

Reece then marked his Premier League comeback by stepping off the bench to score a dramatic late equaliser against Bournemouth. He has followed that by starting our last two league games.

‘We are very happy that finally he is back for us,’ said Maresca in his pre-match press conference ahead of Monday night’s meeting with West Ham United at Stamford Bridge.

‘We consider Reece to be a top player, one of the best players we have, and for sure he is going to help us from now on.’

It is clear then that James’ importance to the team is not lost on our head coach, who is grateful to have him available for selection again.

However, it is not just what we got back with James’ return, but also what has been added, as Maresca continues to see signs of improvement from Reece.

One area that has been the case is in his role as captain and how he shows leadership within the squad, something Enzo feels is even more vital at Chelsea at the moment given the young age of his Blues side, with the skipper himself only recently turned 25 years old.

‘Since the start Reece is improving, he is getting better,’ continued Maresca.

‘I’ve said many times that all captains have to be a good example with all of their team-mates, especially in this team when we have many young players.

‘He is trying to make an effort in terms of this kind of thing, in terms of leadership. He is doing that in general – it is during the training sessions, in the changing room, all of the time.’