James returned from England duty midway through the international break and, while she has been assessed, Bompastor says the 23-year-old will continue to be monitored in the days ahead before a timeframe is put on her recovery.

She will miss tomorrow's contest at Kingsmeadow, but there will be a welcome return to the squad for Reiten, who has been sidelined since the end of February.

Bompastor explained: ‘LJ came back from the international break with a hamstring injury, we have already assessed her but we need to asses her again next week to see how she is recovering. We will be going week by week but she won’t be available for the game tomorrow.

‘For the rest of the squad, some players had little things, but nothing serious. We have Guro Reiten is back in the squad, while Maelys Mpome and Naomi Girma are close to being back in the squad.'

When asked specifically about Girma, who arrived at Chelsea in January, Bompastor added: ‘Not for this weekend, I think it’s too soon. She is really close, though, and could be included in the squad for the Barcelona game.’

Sam Kerr, who has been sidelined since January 2024 due to an ACL injury, linked up with Australia teammates during the international break as they played a double header against South Korea. That was a decision taken by the Blues and one Bompastor feels was an integral part of the forward's recovery process.

‘Really important for her,' said the Blues boss said. 'First of all, mentally, because she had the chance to be around the national team, which is really important for her. And she could also see her family, which is really nice to have the opportunity to do.

'It’s part of the process with Sam, but we’re still a few weeks away from Sam returning fully on the pitch, so it’s difficult to put a timeframe on it.’