Chelsea confirm extent of Reece James' knee injury

Chelsea have released a statement detailing the extent of a knee injury picked up by Reece James.

The right-back initially damaged his knee during October’s win at Milan in the Champions League. subsequently ruling him out of the World Cup.

He made his return in the Blues’ first game this side of the winter break, performing well for 53 minutes in a 2-0 win at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday before being withdrawn in pain.

Head coach Graham Potter confirmed post-match that this was a ‘concern’, and Chelsea have now confirmed that James is expected to miss the next month of action.

A statement read: “Defender Reece James underwent assessment earlier today after being substituted during the second half of last night’s 2-0 Premier League victory over AFC Bournemouth due to a knee injury. Scan results have regrettably confirmed a setback for the 23-year-old, with Reece now set to be ruled out for up to a month.”

James is now set to miss two huge clashes with Manchester City – one in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup – while Chelsea will hope he could return in time to face Liverpool in late January.

Chelsea are next in action on New Year’s Day when they travel to Nottingham Forest.