Mauricio Pochettino is confident Reece James won't need surgery to overcome his niggling hamstring problems.
The Chelsea captain returned to training on Wednesday but it remains unclear whether he is fit enough to start against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Pochettino has already said James's understudy Malo Gusto will "maybe" play instead.
Asked whether his approach will keep James from needing surgery, Pochettino said: "What we are trying to do is to avoid what you say [surgery].
"We also have a very good strategy to put him at his best and keep him fit. It is impossible forever [to never be injured again].
"He is much better, much better, he is progressing well but still not at his best 100 percent. I think maybe he can help the team at some point – he is close to being there."
Mikel Arteta called Pochettino his "big brother" having met him in 2001 at Paris Saint-Germain.
Pochettino, who is 10 years his friend and rival's senior, knew even then that Arteta would become a great coach.
"He was still giving advice to me and to others," he added. "He was 17 and said wow, the character, the personality, the charisma also.
"Already [he had] the football brain. And you either have it or you don’t have it. You cannot go to the supermarket to buy one.
"And he already was a coach and then he was a midfielder similar to Pep, to understand the game what the game needs in different circumstances.
"I always used to say ‘Mikel is going to be a coach.’ But not only is he going to be a coach, he’s going to be a great coach."
