James made his comeback from a hamstring injury by playing 45 minutes in the FA Cup against Morecambe and showcased his undoubted qualities during the second half of our Premier League game against Bournemouth,

With the Blues trailing heading into second-half stoppage time at Stamford Bridge, James curled home a pinpoint free-kick to earn Maresca's side a 2-2 draw and a point.

The goal was a reminder of James' match-altering capabilities and partly why Maresca highlighted his influence ahead of Monday night's visit from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Yet the Blues head coach also knows there is more to come from the 25-year-old.

‘For sure he’s important, but also in this moment he can be even more important,’ Maresca said during his pre-match press conference.

‘Reece is an important player for us and one of the most important because he’s our captain and because we know how good he is. Since we started he hasn’t always been fit, but he is better now and with him back we are happy.’

Maresca continued: ‘For Reece, it’s not about if he scores goals or how many minutes. It’s about managing his situation. So we will see.

‘For sure, if he has played 45 minutes it means he can be ready [for Wolves], but what we don’t want with Reece is that we go again and he has an injury again. We don’t want that.

‘Since we started, we are trying to help him and we are doing exactly the same at this moment.’