Graham Potter has said that Mason Mount will not be part of the England squad, less than 24 hours after the midfielder was named in manager Gareth Southgate’s group for the Italy and Ukraine games.

Mount was among the midfielders Southgate included in his squad for the European Championship qualifiers, but Chelsea have decided the player needs more time to recover from a pelvic injury.

That leaves Southgate a midfielder short and having to decide whether or not to call-up a replacement for Mount, with James Ward-Prowse and Morgan Gibbs-White among those who could be considered.

Potter confirmed Mount will not be available for selection for Chelsea’s Premier League game against Everton on Saturday evening, with Raheem Sterling, who was not named in the England squad, also missing with a tight hamstring.

On the pair, Potter said: “Raheem has a problem with his hamstring. It's not too serious but he'll miss the game at the weekend and the international trip.

“It's the same with Mason. He'll miss the England camp as well.”

Chelsea are not taking any risks on the fitness of any of their players with big games to come after the international break, including a Champions League quarter-final tie against champions Real Madrid.

Potter attended a Chelsea fan event on Thursday night in which he said: “We’ll take the draw and then we’ll try and win the f------ Champions League.”

Asked whether he stood by the comment after Chelsea drew Madrid in the last eight and then Manchester City or Bayern Munich if they do proceed to the semi-finals, Potter said: “I said we would try to bleep win the Champions League. That's the same for each of the other seven clubs. They will also say that they could lose in the quarter-final because that's the nature of the Champions League. We'll focus on Real Madrid when we get there. At the moment, it's Everton.

“The feeling is excitement but, as I've said, I'd rather speak about Everton because that's the next game. The other stuff is a long way away.”