Chelsea has been dealt a huge injury setback since Romeo Lavia was declared out for the remainder of the season.
Following his outstanding first year at Southampton, Lavia sparked great interest in his signing during the summer.
Chelsea eventually won the competition for the Belgium international, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino expected to give the teenager significant playing time.
However, Lavia’s terrible first season at Stamford Bridge has been finished off, with the 20-year-old being sidelined for the last two months of 2023–24.
Lavia had been preparing to return to play for the first time since sustaining a thigh injury on his debut against Crystal Palace in December.
Recent updates have not been available, although it was believed that the former Manchester City youth player would play during the run-in.
Instead, Chelsea issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, stating that “Midfielder Romeo Lavia will unfortunately miss the remainder of our 2023–24 campaign due to a setback in his recovery.”
“Recent medical assessments have confirmed that Lavia, who sustained a significant thigh injury against Crystal Palace back in December, will not feature again this season.”
This scenario implies that Lavia, who cost £53 million, will finish the season having only played 32 minutes, including added-on time, on the field.
Lavia was obviously suffering during the aforementioned additional minutes against Palace, but he finished the game and helped Chelsea to a morale-boosting 2-1 victory.
Nonetheless, it has come at a cost, as West Londoners will now get no return on the high charge they paid in August.
Lavia had previously been out of action since early September due to an ankle ligament injury received during the season’s first international break.
How should Pochettino and Chelsea react?
While Chelsea boasts a large number of midfielders, Pochettino has seldom had all of them available at once, instead relying heavily on Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, and Conor Gallagher.
Lesley Ugochukwu and Lavia were originally seen as backups for the three, with Carney Chukwuemeka missing the most of the season due to injuries.
Chukwuemeka is now working on his conditioning in preparation for more first-team minutes, while Ugochukwu, who has been out since December due to a hamstring injury, is close to returning.
Meanwhile, Pochettino has the option of employing Cesare Casadei, who has played only 17 minutes as a substitute since returning from a loan spell with Leicester City. This might change with a start against Burnley on Saturday if Fernandez drops to the substitutes’ bench after playing for Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Lavia’s ailment may require an assessment of loan possibilities for 2024–25 in order to receive regular activity. Chelsea may also gain from obtaining a loan fee and deducting his salaries from their outgoings as they seek to comply with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability standards.
