Chelsea star James’ comments to Potter about injury amid surgery fears

Graham Potter previews Aston Villa

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Chelsea defender Reece James told Graham Potter that he didn’t feel ‘too bad’ on Thursday despite the right-back sustaining a knee injury that could rule him out of the World Cup this winter. The academy product was forced off of the pitch against AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night but was in no rush to return to Cobham and have the matter checked out, spending the next day touring the Italian city.

After looking at the problem, the Blues did not initially anticipate James spending an extended period on the sidelines, though scans on Thursday showed that the defender’s injury was worse than first thought. A knee specialist is now set to assess the extent of the problem over the weekend.

James could be forced to undergo surgery to resolve the matter, which would make him a major doubt for Gareth Southgate’s England squad. The 22-year-old was expected to play a significant role in Qatar, with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker an injury doubt for the competition and Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold struggling for form and slipping down the pecking order on the international stage.

Speaking about James on Friday ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Villa Park to take on Aston Villa, Potter said: “He is due to see a specialist over the weekend so until we get that information the rest would be speculation. We will wait and see.

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“He said yesterday (Thursday) that he felt not too bad but until you get these things checked you never know. There is no point in looking into the Doomsday scenario yet, we just need to make sure it’s OK and then go forward.”

James has excelled under Potter so far this season, scoring one and assisting another in seven Premier League appearances. The former Brighton manager spoke earlier this month about how James has incredibly untapped potential that he hopes he can help the player reach, going as far as saying that the defender could become a club legend at Stamford Bridge if he continues to perform to his already-high levels.

But the priority for James in the short-term will be recovering from his knee injury, with suggestions that he could be ruled out for six to eight weeks due to ligament damage- though that could be longer if the specialist recommends surgery.

James isn’t the only star on Chelsea’s injury list though, with French duo Wesley Fofana and N’Golo Kante also unavailable. The latter was expected to return to action soon but Potter confirmed that the former Leicester City had suffered a ‘setback’ in his recovery from a hamstring problem.

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