Chelsea forward Lauren James sidelined for at least five matches

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has confirmed that Lauren James will be absent for a minimum of five games due to a hamstring injury. The 25-year-old was substituted in the 35th minute during the side's 6-0 victory against Charlton Athletic.

The injury means James will miss the upcoming home match against Everton this Saturday, as well as the important fixture versus Manchester City next weekend. Furthermore, her availability for the England World Cup qualifying play-off matches against Ukraine in December remains uncertain, according to Bompastor.

Regarding the forward's condition, Bompastor stated: "The only one who will be missing is LJ. She had a scan and she has an injury in her hamstring, so we won't see her until the end of this block."

While James is set for a period on the sidelines, Chelsea received a boost with the return of midfielder Lexi Potter. The team currently leads the Women's Super League table, with the manager noting that they have proven capable of scoring through various players this season.

Bompastor remarked: "Of course we know how good Lauren is for us and for the team. Also, my job is to make sure I find solutions when some players are not available and not playing for the team. I think 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."

She further added: "The last game we had against Charlton, a lot of players were involved in scoring again. Also, I think every player on the pitch had a shot on goal. Even if it was not always a great one, at least all of the players who were on the pitch had a shot on goal. I think that's a good thing and, again, my job now is to make sure I find the solutions without LJ on the pitch."