Reece James sent for scan after suffering knee injury in Milan win

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter is hopeful that Reece James has avoided a serious knee injury after he was forced off the field in Tuesday’s 2-0 win over AC Milan.

The 22-year-old was enjoying another sensational performance when he appeared to land awkwardly on his right leg, jarring his knee, around the hour mark.

After receiving treatment, James continued the game but would last just a few more minutes before going down once again and eventually limping off the field.

Initial signs appeared positive, with James out on the pitch after full-time without the assistance of a crutch or a brace, but Potter refused to make any definitive statements on the right-back’s fitness before the results of a scan.

“Reece, we’re hoping he’ll be OK,” the boss explained. “[We’ll need] 24-48 hours because it’s too early to tell you anything more than that.”

James himself took to Twitter after the game to write: “Fingers crossed it’s not a bad one.”

The injury was the only downside to another excellent European performance for Chelsea, who profited from a controversial refereeing decision as former Blue Fikayo Tomori was sent off midway through the first half for fouling Mason Mount in the penalty area.

“To come here and win is absolutely not straightforward,” Potter reflected. “You could see from the start of the game, the crowd and atmosphere was fantastic.

“Overall, we played well. It was important to get the goal and the penalty and red card changes the completion of the game. We started to make the ten men count, which I think we did quite well. Overall, we’re delighted with the three points, the clean sheet, and to score two goals too.”