Graham Potter has reacted to Chelsea’s win over AC Milan on Tuesday night, as he gave injury update on Reece James and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal.
Chelsea manager Graham Potter has provided an update on Reece James following his injury against AC Milan, although he pointed out that it’s too early to give a full update.
James was forced to leave the game in the second half through an injury but Potter hopes the England international is available for Chelsea’s next game which will be at Aston Villa this weekend.
Speaking about James’ fitness, he said: “We are hoping Reece will be okay [for the next game],’ Potter said. ‘It is too early to give anything more than that.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his third goal on a bounce in his last three matches when he scored as Chelsea beat AC Milan 2-0 in Italy, a week after the Blues won the reverse fixture 3-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Potter said the former Arsenal striker is only building his fitness after his difficult transfer from Barcelona over the summer.
‘We’ve not been doing anything special,’ Potter told Chelsea’s official website. ‘He’s just been building his fitness, he came from a difficult summer and the more game time he gets, the stronger he gets. The more we understand him the more he understands us, and then everybody can see his qualities. It looks like he’s enjoying his football and scoring goals is important for him.’
AC Milan’s chances of getting something off Chelsea at San Siro were cut short after Fikayo Tomori was shown a straight red card for pulling Mason Mount back inside the penalty box midway through the first half.
Potter thought the Blues could have still got something off the Italian side, had the referee not given the England international the marching orders.
‘To come here and win is not straightforward, as you can see from the start of the game,’ Potter began. ‘The crowd and the atmosphere were fantastic but overall we played well. The red card changes the complexion of the game but we still have to make their 10 men count, which I think we did quite well.
‘It is not straightforward playing against 10 men,’ he added, ‘especially here because any action can lead to a goal and then the crowd would be so into the game again, and it becomes really difficult.
‘I still felt that we could do enough with the 11 v 11 but the referee has made the decision and we have to get on with it.
‘So overall we’re delighted with the three points, with the clean sheet, and to score two goals is good.’