Reece James has had surgery on a knee injury sustained in training with Xabi Alonso losing his captain for an as yet undisclosed period of time.

James, 26, missed his side’s 5-1 Premier League win over Bournemouth after the international break. While he usually still travels with the squad on the team coach when injured, he did not do so for that victory, sparking concerns that there was more to his latest setback.

Now, Chelsea have confirmed that James has had a ‘successful minor’ operation, and will be without him for their league trip to Everton on Saturday and beyond.

In a statement, Chelsea said: ‘Captain Reece James has undergone successful minor knee surgery. The 26-year-old was absent from Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge while medical assessments took place following the injury suffered in training.

‘Those assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action. Reece has already begun his road to recovery and will be supported by the club's medical department at Cobham during this rehabilitation phase.

‘Everyone at Chelsea wishes Reece a speedy recovery and will support him on his road to return.’

Levi Colwill captained Chelsea against Bournemouth in James’ absence.

Alonso will meet the media at 1.30pm on Friday at Cobham, where he will be asked to place a timeframe on James’ recovery.

James has an unfortunate history of injuries, largely due to hamstring issues. With that, Alonso had been morphing him into a midfielder rather than a right back.

However, James’ new problem robs Alonso of another midfield option, at a time when there were already concerns surrounding numbers in that central area.

Moises Caicedo is now back from being sidelined, which should help until January, when Chelsea are likely to try to add at least one reinforcement. They are known to admire Alex Scott, though Bournemouth say they want more than £100million to sell him this winter.