After suffering a serious injury during Chelsea’s 2-0 win against AC Milan on Tuesday night, Reece James will forego knee surgery. The 22-year-old suffered a knock in the second half but continued to play before limping off; at first, it was believed that the injury wasn’t as serious as first believed. Despite the injury, James boarded an EasyJet flight home later that day while Chelsea’s players had the day off on Wednesday.
During his press conference prior to the trip to Aston Villa, which James would miss, Graham Potter remained cautious on the subject. He said: “Unfortunately, there isn’t much I can offer until we obtain the information. He is scheduled to see a specialist this coming weekend. From my standpoint, everything else is simply conjectured, so we’ll have to wait and see.
James still has a long road to recovery before the winter World Cup in Qatar, but Chelsea has now announced that he won’t need surgery, which should shorten his recovery time. England plays their first game on November 21, five weeks after the Premier League concludes for the tournament in Qatar.
Following the knee injury sustained in our away game against AC Milan, Reece has received treatment from the Chelsea medical department and consulted a specialist this weekend, according to a statement from the club. Reece will now participate in a rehabilitation program and is anticipated to be out for eight weeks after discussions between all parties.
Without surgery, there is a chance that the top full-recovery back’s time might be cut to six weeks, making him one of Chelsea’s most vital players. He is not likely to feature for Chelsea again before the competition, so he must now wait for Gareth Southgate to decide whether or not to include him in the team.
For more player updates and news, keep watching this space.
