Chelsea Women's manager Emma Hayes has addressed claims of a divide in the Lionesses camp amid Lauren James' latest social media activity.
After Manchester United knocked Chelsea out of the FA Cup with a 2-1 semi-final win, James appeared to unfollow three Red Devils players on Instagram, who also happen to be her England teammates.
2
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to point out that goalkeeper Mary Earps, as well as attacker Ella Toone and defender Millie Turner had all been removed from the Blues star's follow list.
The decision may have been based on an incident that occurred between the 22-year-old and Turner at the end of the first half, when James scored to make it 2-1 after United had raced into an early two-goal lead.
Eager to get play back underway quickly, the Lionesses forward rushed to collect the ball, only to find that Turner had already picked it up, prompting the two to engage in a tussle.
James appeared to get her fellow international in a headlock during the altercation, which the United player then made light of in an Instagram post later on.
Read More On Lionesses
Turner uploaded a picture of the scene alongside a series of snaps from the match, with the caption: "KAMMOONNNN".
She then drew further attention to the photo by re-posting it on her Instagram story, writing: "See you at Wembley my reds."
While the England new girl's social media activity will have pleased her teammates, many of whom liked the post, it clearly did not go down well with James, whose next move was noted by fans.
Many online remarked that the former United star no longer seemed to follow a trio of her Three Lions teammates, speculating that this could hint at a possible rift between the players.
Most read in Football
2
Emma Hayes was asked for her thoughts on the incident, in light of James receiving abuse online for her part in it, with some criticising Turner for making the striker an easier target through her posts.
Speaking ahead of Chelsea's WSL clash with Aston Villa, Hayes played down the situation: "We don’t look at Instagram, she doesn’t have it, so I don’t know.
Behind the scenes of England's World Cup kit launch with Lionesses Lauren James and Lucy Bronze
"I haven’t had the conversation about Instagram with her, we haven’t talked about it."
When quizzed on whether the speculation online surrounding the rumoured spat would impact her players' focus in the season's run-in, the Blues boss remained unfazed.
She said: "I guess if you read it, or you look at it, I don’t know what the noise is, I don’t know what it says.
"All I know is that I am focused on what I do every day and my reminder to the team is that you continue to do those tasks.
"I can’t control anything outside of that, so I don’t think about it too much to be honest."
The 24-cap Lioness has been on the receiving end of online hate in the past, having suffered vile racist abuse after her sending off in England's last-16 victory over Nigeria at the World Cup last year.
She was then subject to similarly hateful comments after appearing to stamp on Arsenal's Lia Walti when her side were beaten 4-1 at the Emirates in December.
Fans pointed out that Turner has since disabled comments on the post, demonstrating that she has become aware of the latest torrent of abuse directed at her England teammate.
Hayes will be hoping her team can put their latest disappointment behind them as they look to strengthen their bid for WSL glory against Aston Villa, before turning their attention to their Champions League semi final against Barcelona.
Read More on talkSPORT
After missing out on both the FA and Conti Cup titles, the west Londoners are now looking to give their outgoing manager the perfect send-off as she prepares to leave the club at the end of the season to take charge of the USA women's national team.