Enzo Maresca gives injury update on Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia and when he may be available again

Even though there’s been glimpses of brilliance from Romeo Lavia since he joined Chelsea nearly 18 months ago, his time in West London has been plagued by injuries so far.

Romeo Lavia provides real quality in the Chelsea squad as a deep-lying midfielder. When he’s fit and firing, he belongs in the team’s best starting line-up.

However, the 21-year-old Belgian midfielder can’t keep himself fit for any extended period of time. It’s quite alarming that he’s only made 13 Blues appearances since the start of the 2023/24 season.

He’s missed the club’s last two consecutive matches as he struggles with a fresh injury setback.

Chelsea are keeping their eye out for potential midfield recruits in January, which is a smart idea because they’re suddenly looking quite short of options in the centre of the park.

• READ MORE: What people who have trained with Romeo Lavia have noticed about the Chelsea midfielder

Photo by Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images

Enzo Maresca clears up when Romeo Lavia may return from injury

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has admitted that Lavia is expected to miss the next

“I feel sad for him. We have 16 games of the (Premier League) season left and we hope to have Romeo back for the last 10,” Maresca said.

Update on Romeo Lavia from Enzo Maresca: "I feel sad for him. We have 16 games of the (Premier League) season left and we hope to have Romeo back for the last 10." That would suggest mid-March for a return if correct timeframe from #CFC boss

— Kieran Gill (@kierangill_DM) January 24, 2025

Lavia is set to miss another significant chunk of matches as his injury woes continue.

As you can see below, the defensive midfielder will. be absent for some major Premier League clashes. That doesn’t include the ties in the FA Cup and the Conference League, too.

• Saturday 25th January
  Premier League

  • Man CityManchester City

    17:30

    ChelseaChelsea

• Monday 3rd February
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    20:00

    West HamWest Ham

• Friday 14th February
  Premier League

  • BrightonBrighton

    20:00

    ChelseaChelsea

• Saturday 22nd February
  Premier League

  • Aston VillaAston Villa

    17:30

    ChelseaChelsea

• Tuesday 25th February
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    20:15

    SouthamptonSouthampton

• Saturday 8th March
  Premier League

  • ChelseaChelsea

    15:00

    LeicesterLeicester

Tim Sherwood thinks Lavia can be a major player for Chelsea. It’s obvious for anyone who watches him on the pitch that he’s got world-class potential.

Unfortunately, the Blues fanbase are growing more and more frustrated with the young talent because of the stop-start nature of his career.

Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images

Enzo Maresca may need to rethink what he said

Chelsea are playing a dangerous game with the limited amount of fit central midfielders in the squad right now. Therefore, we’d strongly advise the club to consider recalling Lesley Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos from their respective loan spells before the January transfer window shuts.

When asked about the possibility of recalling Ugochukwu or Santos, Maresca claimed Chelsea have enough midfield cover.

If the Blues go far in the cup competitions, the games will pile up in the second half of the campaign. We’re not confident that Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall can cover all of that.

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