Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor says Lauren James will be out for at least the next few weeks, casting doubt on her availability for England’s World Cup qualifying play-off matches.

The 25-year-old will miss at least the next five matches for the Blues, including Everton’s visit to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and a crucial match against champions Manchester City next weekend.

It also casts doubt on her chances of being available for England’s World Cup qualifying play-off matches against Ukraine in December.

After James came off in distress in the 35th minute of the 6-0 win over Charlton Athletic, Bompastor confirmed the injury: “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.”

There was more positive news for Chelsea, with midfielder Lexi Potter, who made her England debut last month, back after missing the trip to Charlton.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are top of the WSL table having won matches both with and without James this season.

Bompastor added: “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.

“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.”