Lauren James ruled out for weeks with injury

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has confirmed that Lauren James faces a period on the sidelines after sustaining a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old was substituted in the 35th minute during Chelsea's 6-0 victory over Charlton Athletic.

Bompastor stated that James will be unavailable for at least the next five matches, ruling her out of this Saturday's home fixture against Everton and the high-stakes clash against champions Manchester City next weekend.

She had a scan and she has an injury in her hamstring, so we won't see her until the end of this block. Sonia Bompastor

The injury also creates uncertainty regarding her availability for England's World Cup qualifying play-off matches against Ukraine in December. On a brighter note for the Blues, midfielder Lexi Potter has returned to the squad after missing the recent Charlton match.

Despite the setback, Bompastor remains confident in her squad's versatility. "My job is to make sure I find solutions when some players are not available," the manager explained. "The good thing is that when I looked at some of the statistics from last week, we are a team who are able to score through different players. Every player on the pitch had a shot on goal against Charlton, and that's a good sign for us moving forward without LJ."