REECE JAMES is reportedly in a race against time to be fit for the World Cup due to the knee injury he sustained in Chelsea’s win at AC Milan.
He went down twice at the San Siro on Tuesday until he was substituted on 62 minutes.
That left both Blues and Three Lions fans anxiously waiting to find out the extent of the damage.
Both the player and Chelsea believed that the blow was nothing serious at first.
The versatile full-back even joined his team-mates on the pitch after the final whistle and then stayed in Milan on Wednesday before returning home on an easyJet flight rather than head straight for medical tests.
However, Football.London now claim that James is understood to have undergone further scans yesterday.
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And they have revealed that the extent of the injury is worse than initially hoped.
Chelsea medical chiefs are reportedly deciding whether the 22-year-old requires surgery.
And that will be just as much of a worry for Blues boss Graham Potter as it is for England manager Gareth Southgate.
In his press conference on Friday, Potter said: “He is due to see a specialist over the weekend. Until we get that, there’s not too much I can add.
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“It would be speculation on my perspective. Let’s wait and see. He felt not too bad yesterday but until you get these things checked, you never know.”
The World cup kicks-off in Qatar in just over a month’s time.
Now his place in the Three Lions squad appears to be under serious threat.
England will begin their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21.
They then take on USA on November 25 before their final group clash with Wales four days later.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have a bumper month of action before domestic football breaks up for the showpiece in Qatar.
They have Premier League games with Aston Villa, Brentford, Manchester United, Brighton, Arsenal and Newcastle before the tournament.
They also have final Champions League group games with Salzburg and Dinamo Zagreb as well as a League Cup showdown with Manchester City.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
