Chelsea manager Graham Potter makes fresh Reece James admission which England fans will love

Chelsea manager Graham Potter says Reece James is disappointed with his knee injury after confirmation that the defender would be out for at least eight weeks.

The England defender was in the best form of his life and was tipped to beat off competition from Trent Alexander-Arnold to land the right back role for the Three Lions at the World Cup.

The time required for James to get him fit now means he is more likely than not to miss the World Cup and Chelsea manager Graham Potter admitted from speaking to him that he can tell the 22-year-old is disappointed.

The Blues are at Villa Park this weekend and will have to find a way to get all three points without their influential full-back even though Potter says the team is well equipped to continue putting points on board.

The Chelsea boss told reporters ahead of Villa: “It’s a big miss for us. We’re disappointed he’s out. We are going to have to deal with that and help him get back fit as quickly as we can.

“I spoke to him yesterday. He’s disappointed to be out. It’s going to be a frustrating time for him. He’s going to need our support to get him back and fit.”

England manager Gareth Southgate has a mountain of injuries to deal with at right back with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold  all out due to injury.

England kick off their World Cup campaign against Iran on 21 November while Chelsea still have up to eight games before the international break that has been enforced by the World Cup.