Reece James to see knee specialist, could require surgery

There was plenty of initial optimism — and optimistic speculation — about Reece James’ knee injury, but unfortunately as the week’s gone on and the various scans and tests necessary have been conducted, that optimism has started to turn sour.

In fact, as per head coach Graham Potter, Reecey’s set to see a “specialist” this weekend, which is just about the last thing we’d want to hear in this case.

“He is due to see a specialist over the weekend so until we get that information there is not much more I can add. The rest will just be speculation from my perspective. We will wait and see. [...] There is discomfort so we just need to check and see a specialist.”

“[We] spoke yesterday and [he] felt not too bad. But again until you get these things checked, you never know so we need to make sure it’s checked with the specialist, and then we can find a way forward.”

-Graham Potter; source: Football.London

Of course, it might still turn out to be just a minor strain, but it’s never good when you have to see a specialist. When you’re a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When you’re a specialist, every injury looks like a surgery.

To wit, the latest related speculation (from the Telegraph) is that he will miss at least 6-8 weeks (so let’s call it two months), which would also rule him out of the World Cup. It’s unclear if that prognosis is including a potential surgery, though I’m guessing it is not.