Poor Romeo Lavia; he’s injured again. Yes, the Belgian midfielder is set for yet another spell on the sidelines, having come off early in the draw with Qarabag last night. Lavia has suffered a thigh injury, and Blues boss Enzo Maresca summed it up best in post-match press conference yesterday:
“It’s a great shame, especially for him. He’s not able to be fit for a long period. It’s too early to understand what kind of injury, but hopefully it’s not a big injury.”
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We don’t know how severe the injury to Lavia is, so we just don’t know how long he’ll be out. You just got to really feel for the guy- he cannot ever stay healthy.
Heading in to the very disappointing trip to Azerbaijan, Maresca provided an update on this injured trio of players: Pedro Neto, Cole Palmer and Benoit Badiashile.
Palmer remains out with a groin problem, and his return is TBA, because he still hasn’t returned to training yet.
“We go day by day with Cole,” Maresca said on Tuesday. “He isn’t taking part in any sessions with the team.”
As for Pedro, he could be fine to feature on Saturday against Wolves, but he’s probably a 50/50 proposition. Maresca said a couple days ago: “Not a problem, just a small issue. So we try to protect him. He is not involved in tomorrow’s game.”
And then finally, Badiashile has been sidelined with an unspecified muscular injury for some time, but at least we have a light at the end of the tunnel with him now.
“We could have Benoit available after the international break,” Maresca said.
Otherwise everything else remains the same with the Chelsea injury/fitness/availability situation.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.