Injury News: Chelsea defender to be in protective gear for one month

Chelsea star Reece James to spend four weeks in a knee brace

Speaking in an interview as quoted by the Telegraph, Graham Potter has confirmed that Chelsea star Reece James will spend at least four weeks in a knee brace which has created more doubt about the English full-backs availability for the World Cup.

James has gotten injured at the worst time possible for Chelsea and England. The stars were aligning perfectly for the Blues full-back. With Kyle Walker getting injured and in serious doubt for the World Cup, the talented defender had the England national team spot written for himself in the World Cup.

However, in what has been a cruel twist in events, the 22-year-old now is on the verge of missing out on the showpiece event altogether with James facing a race against time to be fit for the flight to Qatar. The fact that he does not need surgery is surely optimistic.

Arguably Chelsea’s most influential player on the pitch alongside Mason Mount, James has been excellent for the Blues this season. Quite possibly the best goalscoring defender there is in the Premier League, the Blues will really miss the services of the Englishman.

The biggest problem for Graham Potter’s men is the fact that they do not have a natural replacement for James within the squad. The most likely option is to play the ever-versatile Cesar Azpilicueta in that position but it remains to be seen how the Blues cover for the attacking presence on the right flank.

Speaking about James’ injury, Potter did not offer much hope for us to take away, even revealing the protective gear that he will have to wear.

“It wouldn’t be my place to predict what’s going to happen. He will be in a brace for four weeks. That’s all I know, what the next four weeks look like for him and that has implications”

It remains to be seen how Potter decides to play with Chelsea in the absence of James. He deployed Reece James in a right wing-back role against Aston Villa and it remains to be seen if he persists with something like that even in the upcoming games.

Southgate will also have to come up with alternatives to the Chelsea man. He does not seem to trust Trent Alexander-Arnold much but the manager may not have much of a choice now but to trust the Liverpool man. Kieran Trippier is also the other option that the English manager has.

More Chelsea News:

• Graham Potter reveals how Edouard Mendy has responded to Kepa starting games for Chelsea
• Romano: Joe Shields joining Chelsea as part of the recruitment team is a done deal
• Ben Jacobs claims Chelsea will look to sign Harry Kane from Spurs

Of all the injuries that could happen to Chelsea, this is probably the worst one. How they cover for this setback could go a long way in making or breaking this season and it remains to be seen how Potter goes about it.