- James injured again versus Bournemouth
- Missed World Cup because of knee issue
- Potter will hope it's nothing serious
WHAT HAPPENED? James made his return on Tuesday after he suffered a serious knee injury against AC Milan in the Champions League on October 11, which subsequently kept him out of the World Cup. The international break afforded the 23-year-old time to recover and return to full fitness ahead of the Premier League's resumption. However, it proved to be too soon as James was replaced by Cesar Azpilicueta eight minutes after the interval while Chelsea were two goals to the good against Bournemouth.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: James is vital to how Chelsea play, providing two assists and netting two goals himself in all competitions prior to his original injury. Graham Potter may well have to go without him once again depending on the severity of the new issue.
After the game, the Chelsea manager said: "I'm not sure on the state of the injury. Too early to say. You can see his quality. It's a blow for us. Fingers crossed. We'll see how bad it is."
IN TWO PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR JAMES? He'll be hoping that this problem isn't a reoccurrence of the injury that kept him out off action for the best part of three months and will want to be back out on the pitch as soon as possible. It's likely, judging by James' reaction, he'll miss Chelsea's trip to Nottingham Forest on New Year's Day.