Chelsea’s manager, Graham Potter, has admitted it is too early to tell the severity of Reece James’s injury, after the defender sustained what appeared to be a recurrence of the knee injury that ruled him out of England’s World Cup campaign during his side’s 2-0 victory against Bournemouth.
Chelsea led through first-half strikes from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount when James made what appeared to be an innocuous pass in the 49th minute. The 23-year-old – making his first appearance since picking up the initial injury during the Champions League match against Milan in October – immediately signalled to the bench that he could not continue, and was soon replaced by César Azpilicueta.
“No not really, too soon,” Potter said when asked for an update. “It’s obviously the same area, so we are concerned. We will have to wait for the next 24-48 hours.
“There was a sort of chop and he felt something there. We will have to see the extent of it. At the moment we are just at a stage of hoping it isn’t as bad and keeping our fingers crossed.
“The plan was not for him to play 90 tonight. He was going to play 60-65 minutes which was a buildup to what he did previously. He’s disappointed, of course, at the moment. We just have to hope it’s not as bad as it was, and he can get a speedier recovery.”
Asked to describe James’s importance to his Chelsea plans, Potter said: “Reece is a world-class player. You see it from the outside, but it’s not until you work with him that you realise how good he is. He’s an incredible player. He would fit into any team in the world. He can play in any team in the world, so any team would miss him.”
Potter is already without the striker Armando Broja for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, while N’Golo Kanté remains a long-term absentee. Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell also missed the Bournemouth match through injury.
Potter refused to comment about pre-game reports that Chelsea were in advanced talks on a £35m deal to bring in the Monaco central defender Benoît Badiashile when the January transfer window opens.
