After limping off against Bournemouth, Reece James has hinted that he will be out for a while more, and Chelsea are looking into Celtic's Josip Juranovic as a possible replacement.
The England international missed the World Cup in Qatar because of a knee injury, but he started for his team in the 2-0 Premier League victory.
James remained at Stamford Bridge for nearly an hour before experiencing the same knee discomfort and being ordered to leave. He had a knee brace on when he left the stadium.
James shared a statement on social media on Wednesday, praising the "tough" year he has had.
"2022 has been the hardest year to date," he composed. " Just want to thank you for the help, not a solitary one of you slip through the cracks.
Graham Potter, Chelsea's head coach, acknowledged that he was concerned about James' setback and stated that any team would miss the England right-back's quality. Potter said it was "too soon" to assess the extent of the 23-year-old's injury, but added: "I was going to substitute James an hour into the game." Since it is evidently the same region, we are concerned.
"We'll have to see how things go over the next 24 to 48 hours." He felt something following what seemed like a chopping motion. Keep your fingers crossed for us. He is dissatisfied. We just hope that it won't be as bad.
"Reece is an exceptional player. You can see it from the outside, but you won't realize how good he is until you work with him. He is a phenomenal player. He would be missed by any team because he would fit in.