Chelsea boss Graham Potter admits to having concerns about the fitness of Reece James.
The right-wing-back again came off with an injury in a win over Bournemouth on Tuesday.
The game was James’ comeback to the first team, but there is concern he may have reinjured himself.
Post-game, Potter stated, “No, not really [update]. It’s too soon. It’s the same area [he injured previously] so we’re concerned. We’ll have to see in the next 24/48 hours.”
He added on whether it was a specific incident that caused the injury: “It’s a bit too soon but I think there was that action, a chop, and he felt something then. We’ll have to see the extent of it and keep our fingers crossed.”
Asked if he’d spoken with James: “He is disappointed, of course. But again, we’re right now at a stage where we’re just hoping it isn’t as bad and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”
He then finished on the defender: “He has been really disappointed to miss the World Cup of course. It was a huge blow for him and he wanted to give himself every chance to be in the squad. You can see today with his quality what he brings to the team. He has had to deal with the injury and try to get back fit. I think he’s done that well.
“We were taking steps and the plan was for him to not play 90 tonight. He was to play 60/65 minutes which was a build-up from what he did previously. So now he’s disappointed and we’ve just got to hope it’s not as bad as it was and he can get on a speedy recovery.”
