Graham Potter and Chelsea were dealt a massive blow against Bournemouth despite being 2-0 up and cruising. Having gestured to the bench in discomfort moments earlier, Reece James continue to play on before making an inconspicuous lunge to keep a ball in play.
That was the last time he touched the ball, going to ground and putting his hands on his head whilst teammates had to watch on. James was making his first start since hobbling off injured with a knee setback that left him out of action for eight weeks.
His return was brief though, only lasting an hour. Although Potter said afterwards that the plan was to get him 60/65 minutes on the pitch he didn't plan for that to be cut short by injury.
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With Manchester City to play twice and Liverpool also on the horizon in January Chelsea will be, as Potter said, crossing everything in the hope that James' injury isn't as bad as first thought.
Here's the latest on the 23-year-old.
James sends new message
James has sent out another message following reports he could miss at least three weeks of action, he wrote: “It hurts more than you could ever image, I guess it’s another learning lesson, whatever the lesson is, I’m yet to know. I’m sure I’ll look back in the future and understand why this had to happen, growth only takes place when your (sic) challenged.
"In such a bad situation there's still many things to be thankful for, you guys being one."
Leao and Bellingham respond
James' message has been greeted with support from two of Chelsea's transfer targets for 2023. Bellingham, who is extremely close to James and spends lots of time with him on England duty, replied with a red heart on Instagram.
Rafael Leao went one step further on Twitte, writing, "Lets gooooo," with a handshake emoji and prayer emoji.
James message
James has taken to social media to send out a message after his injury, though there is nothing relating to it specifically. He wrote:
"2022 has been the toughest year to date.
"Just wanna thank you all for the support, none of you go unnoticed.
"It’s naturally effected me mentally, I’m currently just tryna deal with the cards I’ve been dealt.
"I hope your end of year is filled with peace, joy & happiness."
What Potter said
Speaking after the match, Potter remained coy on the injury, saying, “No, not really [there is no update]. It’s too soon. It’s the same area [he injured previously] so we’re concerned. We’ll have to see in the next 24/48 hours.
“It’s a bit too soon but I think there was that action, a chop, and he felt something then. We’ll have to see the extent of it and keep our fingers crossed.”
He also added: “He is disappointed, of course. But again, we’re right now at a stage where we’re just hoping it isn’t as bad and we’re keeping our fingers crossed.
“He has been really disappointed to miss the World Cup of course. It was a huge blow for him and he wanted to give himself every chance to be in the squad. You can see today with his quality what he brings to the team. He has had to deal with the injury and try to get back fit. I think he’s done that well.
"We were taking steps and the plan was for him to not play 90 tonight. He was to play 60/65 minutes which was a build-up from what he did previously. So now he’s disappointed and we’ve just got to hope it’s not as bad as it was and he can get on a speedy recovery.”
James missed eight weeks last time out but is yet to have a definitive timeline set for his most recent setback.
Angry message
James' private performance coach James Ralph took to Instagram to show his anger at the situation, writing on his story: “I need to bite my tongue despite having ALOT to say…” the post has since been taken down.
After playing against Brentford last week in a friendly for an hour James was thrust back into competitive action in a call from Potter that has since backfired.
Wesley Fofana support
Fofana was another looking to make his comeback in this game but suffered a setback of his own. He went off against Brentford holding his knee but has since sent a message to his teammate in support of his recovery.
Fofana wrote on Instagram: "My bro i am with you stay strong. You will come back more stronger."
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