Chelsea boss Graham Potter has suggested that he does not want to add to speculation regarding Reece James's knee injury at this stage.
On Tuesday evening, the right wing-back needed to be withdrawn just after the hour mark against AC Milan after sustaining an issue with his knee.
In the days since the game at San Siro, it has been reported that the England international's problem is not as bad as initially feared, calming fears that he may miss the World Cup.
However, on Friday lunchtime, it was claimed that further scans had indicated that the 22-year-old would be sidelined for the foreseeable future, it yet to be determined whether the player requires surgery.
With that news breaking less than an hour before his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Aston Villa, Potter was naturally quizzed on the situation regarding one of his key players.
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Rather than go into detail, Potter insisted that he wanted to wait until James had undergone further assessments with a specialist over the weekend.
Speaking to reporters, Potter said: "He is due to see a specialist over the weekend so until we get that information, there isn't too much that I can add. The rest would just be speculation from my perspective. We will wait and see.
"He spoke yesterday and felt not too bad. But again, until you get these things checked, you never know. We need to get him checked with the specialist and then we can find a way forward."
On Thursday night, another negative fitness update emerged regarding N'Golo Kante, who is said to have suffered another setback in his bid to return from a hamstring injury.
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Like when speaking about James, Potter refused to give an in-depth assessment, yet acknowledged that the Frenchman would remain out of contention.
The Englishman said: "He is due to meet a consultant at the weekend. It's a setback. It's not good news, but anything other than that, I can't give you anything more."
Potter also added that it had become increasingly likely that Wesley Fofana, who suffered a knee injury last week, would not represent Chelsea during their upcoming nine-game period through until November 12.
Chelsea travel to the West Midlands to face Villa having put together a four-match winning streak in all competitions.
Darren Plant
