Chelsea suffer huge injury blow ahead of Champions League semi-final

Chelsea have been dealt a significant blow as they will be without Lauren James for their Champions League semi-final showdown against Barcelona due to a hamstring injury she sustained. The club has indicated that she will be absent for "a period of time" following the issue picked up during England's 5-0 thrashing of Belgium.

The Lionesses star will now turn her focus to recuperating in time for the upcoming European Championship, where Sarina Wiegman's team aims to start strong on July 5 in defence of their title.

This setback is particularly untimely for Sonia Bompastor's side, which is in the hunt for a quadruple trophy haul this season, as they won't have James available for Sunday's first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Estadi Johan Cruyff.

While Chelsea gears up to host the second leg after a week, the Women’s Super League leaders are also contending on the domestic front, looking to secure their sixth consecutive title with only four matches remaining and holding a three-point advantage over Arsenal.

Should Chelsea advance, they'll face the prospect of a Champions League final on Saturday May 24, closely following an FA Cup final clash with James' old side Manchester United at Wembley just six days prior.