Reece James was making his Chelsea comeback after suffering a knee injury against AC Milan on October 11.
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, says he is “keeping his fingers crossed” that Reece James’ most recent knee injury is not catastrophic.
In the 53rd minute of Tuesday’s 2-0 Premier League victory over Bournemouth for the Blues, James was substituted.
The 23-year-old was playing in his first match following his recovery from the knee injury that kept him out of England’s World Cup roster.
“We are worried because it’s in the same area”, Potter added.
“Really, it’s too early to know. Over the following 24-48 hours, we’ll have to wait and watch. He reported feeling anything there; we’ll have to investigate further and hope for the best.”
“Of course, he was quite unhappy to miss the World Cup. It dealt him a devastating blow. Today, you could see his abilities and the value he adds to the group. He is a top-tier athlete. Although you can tell from the outside, you won’t truly understand how good he is till you work with him.”
“Any team in the world would miss him if he were to play for them. He is obviously dissatisfied because the original idea was to play for 60 minutes today.”
“We hope it’s not as serious as it was and he can recover quickly.”
James had been one of the standout performers up until his substitution for a revitalized Chelsea team that had lost their previous five league games before the World Cup break.
Potter added, “It’s a step forward for us as a team.”
“Credit to the players. With the break we had, you never know how it’ll go. The first-half performance was good. The attitude was fantastic. It was a well-deserved win.”
“We weren’t in the best of situations, so you have to make the most of breaks. We did that in order to examine, reevaluate, and get injured guys back. Even with players returning at various periods, we made the most of it, and the players’ attitude has been outstanding.”
The opening goal for the Blues was scored by Kai Havertz for Chelsea, who also made an impressive showing. Raheem Sterling set up Havertz, who overcame a disappointing World Cup campaign with Germany, who were eliminated in the group stage.
“I am aware of Raheem’s vision. He enjoys playing with these balls, “Prime Video was told by the German forward.”
“I was pleased to score since it was a fantastic ball. Hopefully, the victory and the goals will boost our confidence.”
“Graham Potter provides me the freedom to behave however I like on the field. I enjoy being in the box and playing freely. He greatly boosts my confidence.”
