Loan spell comes to an end
Manchester United defender Reece James has returned to his parent club following a mutually agreed recall which brings his stay at Brunton Park to an end with immediate effect.
James, 19, joined the Cumbrians ahead of the season kick off in August but his second appearance, in the Capital One Cup first round meeting with Blackburn Rovers, was cut short when he felt a tightness in his thigh muscle just before half time.
“Reece is a great lad and he has been absolutely first class since the moment he came up here,” caretaker manager Graham Kavanagh said.
“He settled quickly, he was getting games and he was just really unfortunate with the timing of his injury. We brought Conor Townsend in from Hull as cover and we are now in a situation where Chris Chantler is well ahead in terms of where we expected him to be with his recovery.”
“I spoke to Manchester United about the situation and they have been really understanding with us,” he added. “Like I say, Reece has worked hard and it has been a pleasure for us to have him here with us. We wish him all the very best as he goes back down to Manchester.”
Defender Chris Chantler has stepped up his recovery programme and has joined the youth team for training this week.
“Chris has worked really hard,” physio Neil Dalton said. “He’s done everything that’s been asked of him and, all being well, he should be back in training with the first team squad at some point next week.”