Chelsea duo Reece James and N’Golo Kante are major doubts for the World Cup after manager Graham Potter confirmed both players will see a specialist for their respective injuries in the coming days.
James limped out of Tuesday’s Champions League win at AC Milan with a knee problem and sources have told ESPN that there are growing fears the 22-year-old may require an operation.
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“He’s due to see a specialist over the weekend, so until we get that information there’s not too much else I can add unfortunately,” Potter said, speaking at a press conference on Friday.
“The rest would be speculation. We will wait and see. We need to check the discomfort and see a specialist.
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“Yesterday he felt not too bad, but until you get these things checked you never know. We will wait and see. There’s no point looking into the doomsday scenario yet, we need to check and then go forward.”
A decision is expected to be taken this weekend and should he require surgery, James would almost certainly be ruled out of England‘s World Cup squad.
That scenario would be a huge blow to manager Gareth Southgate, who is already sweating over the availability of Manchester City‘s Kyle Walker following a groin operation while Liverpool‘s Trent Alexander-Arnold is sidelined with an ankle problem.
