Maresca issues further injury update on Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia and sets timeline for return | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca says he hopes to have midfielder Romeo Lavia back fit for the last ten games of the Premier League season.

The 21-year-old has been plagued by injuries since his move from Southampton in the summer of 2023, playing just one Premier League game in his first season at the club.

He has played 10 times in the league this season but has again been frustrated by injury, and is currently sidelined with another muscle issue.

But Blues boss Maresca has set him the target of being back for the last ten league games.

He said: “Last year he played zero games and this year he has played around 15 games. If we see it that way then it is an improvement.

“More or less the same thing happened with Wes (Fofana). Last year he played zero games and this year he was always playing.

“You cannot go from one season where you play no games to the next playing 40 games. You have to be happy with 20-25 and probably the year after you can play 40.

“For Romeo I feel sad for him because I know he wants to be part of the game every weekend but unfortunately he is injured again.

“But hopefully he can be back and help us in the last games of the season because we have just 16 games of the season left and we hope to have Romeo back for the last 10.”

Maresca says he will continue to be cautious with Lavia when he does return and not overburden him, as he is also doing with the recently fit again Reece James.

“He was only playing just one a game a week this season anyway,” he said about Lavia. “But the good thing is he has played 15 games and we have to be happy with that.”