Reece James, Thiago Silva, N'Golo Kante: Chelsea…

Reece James, Thiago Silva, N'Golo Kante: Chelsea injury news and return dates ahead of Brentford

Chelsea remain unbeaten under new boss Graham Potter after Mason Mount's brace secured all three points in a 2-0 win over Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa.

Whilst the scoreline may suggest Potter's side put on a convincing display, they were, instead, left to rely on the individual brilliance of Kepa Arrizabalaga before Mount doubled the advantage with a second-half free kick.

However, the Blues were without several first-team stars and risk losing a further one following their Villa Park outing.

football.london takes a look at Chelsea's injury list following Sunday's clash.

Reece James

Having hobbled off during the second-half of Chelsea's Champions League triumph over AC Milan, much speculation has been made over the injury James suffered after colliding with Theo Hernandez.

football.london understands the severity of James' injury is greater than first presumed, leaving his place in England's World Cup squad now in jeopardy.

Whilst coy on the 22-year-old's World Cup chances, Potter admitted following the Villa win that James will struggle to make progress within the next four weeks.

What Potter said: "In terms of his involvement in the World Cup, I don’t know. It will depend on how he recovers. He will give everything. I’m sure he will. But he is in a brace for four weeks and that slows everything down.

"It wouldn’t be my place to predict what’s going to happen. He will be in a brace for four weeks. That’s all I know the next four weeks look like for him and that has implications in terms of what he needs to do to get fit from there but our job is just to help him in the short term now and get him back."

Expected return date: Unknown.

Thiago Silva

Potter has revealed Chelsea will have to monitor Silva following the Blues' win over Villa, with the Brazilian suffering from some tightness in his hamstring.

Silva has played an increasingly key role during his time at Chelsea and has only been left out of the starting XI once this season when he was absent from Potter's squad for Wolves.

The former AC Milan and PSG star made it through the whole match against Villa, albeit with a couple of pauses, and drew an impressive reaction from Chelsea's supporters following the game.

What Potter said: "He is at the highest level you can think of as a character and as a man. How he leads the team, how he is playing, he has made some really important blocks and interceptions.

"He has that know-how that you can’t put a price on. He felt a little tightness in his hamstring so we’ll see how he recovers for Wednesday but apart from that, he is a top person.”

Expected return date: Brentford (A) October, 19.

N'Golo Kante

The Frenchman had only just returned to first-team training, but he has suffered a major injury setback. Kante is set to miss around three months of action with a hamstring injury that he picked up during a training session.

What Potter said: "Again he’s due to see a consultant at the weekend. It’s a setback so it’s not good news. But anything other than that, at this stage I can’t give you any more."

Expected return date: January 2023.

Hakim Ziyech

The Moroccan came off the bench during the win over Wolves but did not travel with the squad to games against Milan and Villa.

Ziyech had previously stayed away from the midweek trip to Italy after falling unwell but was expected to travel to the West Midlands.

There was no mention of the 29-year-old in Potter's post-match comments.

What Potter said: "Hakim is ill. Hakim has a sore throat. That's why he didn't travel (to Milan)."

Expected return date: Brentford (A) October, 19.

Wesley Fofana

According to French news outlet L'Equipe, Fofana suffered a sprained knee and is set to miss up to four weeks of action. However, Potter doesn't expect the young centre-back to feature before the World Cup break.

What Potter said: "He is just progressing where he was. I don’t think we will see him before the World Cup."

Expected return date: AFC Bournemouth (H), December 26.

READ NEXT:

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here