Graham Potter update on Reece James injury after being forced off vs Bournemouth
Reece James, making his Chelsea comeback against Bournemouth, stumbled down the tunnel after suffering a knock.
Following Reece James’ hobbling departure from the Chelsea defense during Tuesday’s victory over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge, manager Graham Potter remained tight-lipped when questioned about the defender’s health. Kai Havertz and Mason Mount both scored twice in the first half to give the west Londoners, who had lost four of their previous five league games, the three points they sorely needed.
Reece James, who was chosen to start for Chelsea for the first time since October after returning from a knee injury that forced him to miss the World Cup with England, had another potential injury overshadow the outcome somewhat. The 23-year-old rapidly picked up the pace and was one of his team’s top players in the first 45 minutes, but he was ultimately forced to end his night early after he took a knock just after halftime and collapsed to the ground.
James was unable to continue and, after being replaced, walked straight down the tunnel, raising concerns about whether he might have suffered an immediate recurrence of his prior injury. After the final whistle at Stamford Bridge, Potter was questioned by Amazon Prime about James’ status. He declined to reveal too much, but he did say that a definite update would be provided in due time during the following several days.
Potter added, “I’m not sure how severe the injury is. “It’s too soon to say. You can tell he’s good; it’s a setback for us. Crossing fingers. In the following 24 to 48 hours, we’ll have to determine how serious it is. To lose him so quickly, [we were] disappointed.
James felt a knock on the same knee that was hurt in October, Potter continued in his post-game press conference, adding, “It’s the same place so we’re concerned.” In the following 24 to 48 hours, we’ll have to wait and see.
“It is a little too soon, but he sensed something in that action, a chop. Right now, all we can do is cross our fingers. Naturally, he is disappointed. We’re simply crossing our fingers right now and praying it’s not as bad.
“It was not the idea for him to play 90 [minutes] tonight; it was to play 60 to 65 minutes. We can only pray that it won’t be as severe as it was and that he recovers quickly.
James’ latest injury against Bournemouth, who were thoroughly defeated at Stamford Bridge despite failing to seriously challenge Chelsea’s defence until the latter stages of Tuesday’s match, raises the question of whether he will be out for an extended amount of time. The outcome saw the Blues move up to ninth in the Premier League table, and they will be desperate to keep up their recent winning streak by defeating Nottingham Forest once more on Sunday.
Potter remarked, “Credit to the guys; you never know how it’ll go given the break we had. “The performance in the first half was strong. The disposition was outstanding. The athletes gave it their all.
“We had to hang on; it was a well-deserved victory. Bournemouth raised the bar. Before the break, we weren’t in the best of situations. You must make the most of breaks, examine and reassess, and bring wounded players back. Even if different players came back at different times, we made the most use of it we could.
