Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is repeating a trick he has previously used to protect his captain Reece James from injury.
The 25-year-old has seen his last few seasons hit by recurring problems, but has been involved in all but two of Chelsea’s last 11 games after making a comeback. Those appearances have increasingly seen him play in midfield instead of his more natural full-back role.
It’s a position that England manager Thomas Tuchel has hinted that he won’t play him in for the national side. "I still feel he is a player for the full-back and wing-back positions, I think we have enough players in central midfield who are more specialists there," he said.
It’s something that Chelsea legend John Terry agrees with. In an interview with BBC Sport, the former defender said: "I agree with that [Tuchel's assessment]. I see him as a defender.
"I don't like it, to be honest, people drifting in [to midfielder] I think it is more confusing.
"Midfielders are very comfortable with their back to goal. When defenders step into those roles it is probably the opposite, we are probably not as comfortable receiving the ball with our back to goal.
"A very different role and first and foremost, talking about the 2005-06 season, we conceded 15 goals and top teams are built around good foundations and I think you need that.
"To be able to do that, you need a back four or a solid back three in place."
Maresca has since explained the thinking behind the midfield role for James, explaining how it will help protect him from injury. It’s similar to the plan the Italian put into place for a former player last season.
"Last year at Leicester we had Ricardo Pereira, that he potentially could be a top player for a top team, but because of his injuries... last year with us he played all the games, we changed a little bit and that works quite well," he said.
"With James, it's working quite well. But I said already many times, Reece with us is playing right full-back, left full-back, midfielder - different positions.
"He's not the only one. We have more players that play in different positions. So we are happy and hopefully the way we are using Reece is helping him to be fit."
Naturally a full-back, Ricardo had struggled with recurring injuries since returning from an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury in January 2021. The most games he played in the league in his two full seasons since the injury was 14 in 2021/22.
The Portugal international is technically one of Leicester’s best players, but has been held back by recurring injuries. However, a change brought in by Maresca changed that last season.
In the Italian’s system, Ricardo played the inverted full-back role. The Portuguese played at right-back when Leicester didn’t have the ball, but moved into midfield when the Foxes were in possession.
The subtle change saw him play 39 times in the Championship and 45 times in all competitions throughout the season. He again became a key player for Leicester throughout the season.
The impact of the positional tweak has been highlighted this season.
Under former manager Steve Cooper, Ricardo returned back to his traditional right-back role for the start of the campaign, but after just two appearances, he picked up a hamstring injury that ruled him out for four months. He has since made two substitute appearances in midfield as he steps up his comeback under current manager Ruud van Nistelrooy.
While James may perform slightly better in the full-back role, playing him in midfield is a clever plan by Maresca, and one the Chelsea boss knows from experience, works. Playing the captain out of position and having him available more regularly is probably a better option for the club than playing him in the full-back role and risking him being rules out for months on end again.