The 24-year-old England right-back missed seven Premier League matches earlier in the season with a hamstring injury and sustained a similar issue during Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat at Everton this month.

“The footballing world knew I got injured, but the procedure I would go down this time took slightly longer to figure out the best solution,” James said on Instagram yesterday.

“I had surgery today to try fix my recurring hamstring issue, the recovery has started, both physically and mentally.”

Chelsea, who are 10th in the Premier League, next visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.