Reece James and N’Golo Kante will see specialists in the coming days, which could affect their chances of traveling to the World Cup next month, according to Chelsea manager Graham Potter. During the Blues’ 2-0 victory over AC Milan last week, England right-back James hobbled off with a knee injury. According to reports in the English media, the 22-year-old is in a tight window to recover in time for Qatar.
“He’s due to see a specialist over the weekend. Until we get that information there is not too much more I can add unfortunately, the rest would just be speculation,” said Potter on James, who had established himself as first-choice for Gareth Southgate at right wing-back for England.
“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.”
Kante hasn’t played since August and is having trouble recovering from a hamstring injury.
The midfielder was crucial to France’s victory in Russia four years ago, and Didier Deschamps’ team could suffer without him.
“He’s due to see a consultant at the weekend. It’s a setback, it’s not good news, but I can’t give you anything more at this stage,” added Potter.
“Historically there are things which have happened which is a concern, so we need to get to the bottom of that,” he added on Kante’s injury record.
“It’s a setback at this stage of this rehab which is worrying but all we can do is get the right diagnosis, get the right consultation, and try and help him get back to full fitness and enjoying his football.”
Potter also confirmed that Wesley Fofana is unlikely to be back before the World Cup. The young defender suffered an injury in their match against Milan.
