Latest from Reece James: Kneeling for a month as Potter defends Milan tourist trip
Chelsea boss Graham Potter has revealed that Reece James will be wearing a knee brace for a month, which will be another blow to his World Cup hopes.
The defender is set to be out for eight weeks after injuring his knee in Tuesday's Champions League win over AC Milan.
That means he won't be fit until the group stage of the tournament in Qatar, which starts next month, and his prospects of being included in Gareth Southgate's England squad are fading .
"As for his involvement in the World Cup, I don't know, it will depend on how he recovers. He's in a one-two for four weeks, which slows everything down," Potter said after the Sunday's 2-0 win at Aston Villa.
"He's going to be in a corset and that has implications for what he needs to do to get back into shape from there.
"He's disappointed, naturally upset because he's injured for us. He misses games for us when he's in a fantastic moment. I thought his performance in Milan was incredible. He's put himself in a real good moment of form.
"He will give his all, he will fight and do his best to come back as soon as possible. When he does, he will be a top player.
"It wouldn't be up to me to predict what will happen. Our job is to help him in the short term now and get him back."
But Potter had no problem with how the matter was handled after James spent an extra 24 hours in Milan, which would have infuriated the FA.
"The boys had a few days off. Especially with international players, sometimes you have to give them a break when you can and that was the idea," he said.
"Reece felt some discomfort the next day and went home and we got him assessed as quickly as possible. Nothing got worse because of the way he was acting at that time. Now, we have to support it."
Meanwhile, Potter hailed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after his side's tough 2-0 win at Aston Villa.
Mason Mount's brace and Kepa's heroics secured a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions on Sunday.
It cemented Chelsea's fourth place in the Premier League and they are now three points clear of Manchester United after their stalemate with Newcastle.
Two sensational saves from Kepa against Jacob Ramsey and Danny Ings have helped Potter stay unbeaten since arriving from Brighton last month and the Spanish keeper has earned the manager's praise.
"It was a tough game. Aston Villa gave us some pain, certainly in the first half. We got a bit lost and needed Kepa to make some fantastic saves," he said.
"He brings us clean sheets, how we try to play and the environment around the place. Kepa found a fantastic level, he made some brilliant saves which kept us in the game.
"We were better in the second half, more stable. It was not easy for us, given the number of games we have played, to come from Milan this far.
"I'm happy for Mason and Kepa in particular, they managed to help us all the way. Different actors will have to intervene.
"It's a collective desire to do the ugly stuff in the game. If we have to suffer, we have to suffer."
Chelsea boss Graham Potter has revealed that Reece James will be wearing a knee brace for a month, which will be another blow to his World Cup hopes.
The defender is set to be out for eight weeks after injuring his knee in Tuesday's Champions League win over AC Milan.
That means he won't be fit until the group stage of the tournament in Qatar, which starts next month, and his prospects of being included in Gareth Southgate's England squad are fading .
"As for his involvement in the World Cup, I don't know, it will depend on how he recovers. He's in a one-two for four weeks, which slows everything down," Potter said after the Sunday's 2-0 win at Aston Villa.
"He's going to be in a corset and that has implications for what he needs to do to get back into shape from there.
"He's disappointed, naturally upset because he's injured for us. He misses games for us when he's in a fantastic moment. I thought his performance in Milan was incredible. He's put himself in a real good moment of form.
"He will give his all, he will fight and do his best to come back as soon as possible. When he does, he will be a top player.
"It wouldn't be up to me to predict what will happen. Our job is to help him in the short term now and get him back."
But Potter had no problem with how the matter was handled after James spent an extra 24 hours in Milan, which would have infuriated the FA.
"The boys had a few days off. Especially with international players, sometimes you have to give them a break when you can and that was the idea," he said.
"Reece felt some discomfort the next day and went home and we got him assessed as quickly as possible. Nothing got worse because of the way he was acting at that time. Now, we have to support it."
Meanwhile, Potter hailed goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after his side's tough 2-0 win at Aston Villa.
Mason Mount's brace and Kepa's heroics secured a fifth consecutive victory in all competitions on Sunday.
It cemented Chelsea's fourth place in the Premier League and they are now three points clear of Manchester United after their stalemate with Newcastle.
Two sensational saves from Kepa against Jacob Ramsey and Danny Ings have helped Potter stay unbeaten since arriving from Brighton last month and the Spanish keeper has earned the manager's praise.
"It was a tough game. Aston Villa gave us some pain, certainly in the first half. We got a bit lost and needed Kepa to make some fantastic saves," he said.
"He brings us clean sheets, how we try to play and the environment around the place. Kepa found a fantastic level, he made some brilliant saves which kept us in the game.
"We were better in the second half, more stable. It was not easy for us, given the number of games we have played, to come from Milan this far.
"I'm happy for Mason and Kepa in particular, they managed to help us all the way. Different actors will have to intervene.
"It's a collective desire to do the ugly stuff in the game. If we have to suffer, we have to suffer."
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