Chelsea confirm extent of Reece James injury blow as England World Cup chances hit

Chelsea have confirmed Reece James is expected to be sidelined for around eight weeks with a knee injury.

The 22-year-old was forced off during Chelsea's 2-0 win over AC Milan on Tuesday night at the San Siro in the Champions League.

After a positive initial assessment, James returned to England for scans and following the assessment on Thursday, those returned back negative and were reported to keep him out until close to the World Cup.

His chances of heading to Qatar were in major doubt, but Chelsea head coach Graham Potter refused to confirm the extent of James' injury and how long he could be out for.

Potter said on Friday: "He is due to see a specialist over the weekend so until we get that information there is not much more I can add. The rest will just be speculation from my perspective. We will wait and see."

After suffering knee ligament damage, James saw a specialist and it was speculated to keep him out for around eight weeks.

That has now been confirmed by Chelsea, who have confirmed James will now undergo a rehabilitation programme before he next returns to action.

In a statement released by the club on Saturday evening, it read: "Following the knee injury sustained in our away match against AC Milan, Reece has received treatment from the Chelsea medical department and visited a specialist this weekend.

"After consultation between all parties, Reece will now undergo a rehabilitation programme and is expected to be out for eight weeks."

James will now miss Chelsea's remaining games before the World Cup break in November. His chances of playing in Qatar are now all but over which will come as a huge disappointment to the 22-year-old.

He will now look to get himself back fit and ready for when Chelsea return on Boxing Day to face AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

Potter knows he needs to find solutions to Chelsea's injury problems - Wesley Fofana and N'Golo Kante are also currently sidelined - and refused to put it down to being unlucky.

He added: "I don't think you should blame everything on luck that's for sure.

"I think we can have a look and see what we can do better. Obviously, I've been here a few weeks so I haven't got the answers completely. But clearly, we want to always try to improve and that's an area that we can probably improve."

Potter has been full of praise for James who has continued to show this season why he is one of, if not the best in his position in the world.

"His performances on the pitch are a realisation of how high his ceiling can be.

"I think, yes, he is that type of player with the world-class attributes he has got and the way he defends with (Wilfried) Zaha and the way he defended (Rafael) with Leao in both games against Milan is a high, high level and he contributes in the attacking phase as well. He is a top, top player."