Romeo Lavia has had a nightmare first season at Chelsea (Picture: Getty Images)
Romeo Lavia’s ongoing injury problems show no sign of ending any time soon, with Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino ruling him out of the Carabao Cup final on 25 February.
The 20-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge from Southampton for an initial £53m over the summer but has made just one appearance for the Blues so far.
He suffered an ankle injury shortly after moving to west London and then picked up a hamstring problem which has kept him out since that lone appearance in December.
Pochettino has not gone into the exact nature of the issue, but has ruled the midfielder out for the next few weeks at least.
Asked if Lavia could be back for the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool on 25 February, Pochettino said: ‘No. He is not training with the team. He is still recovering. Impossible. He is still not on the pitch.’
It was also unclear how long Benoit Badiashile will be out for with a groin problemhe picked up after starting the FA Cup win over Aston Villa on Wednesday.
‘Badiashile we need to assess and wait for the scan. Groin. I hope it’s not a big issue. We need to assess now and after we will know better,’ said Pochettino.
Mauricio Pochettino has had plenty of injury problems to deal with this season (Picture: Getty Images)
There was more positive news about Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah, though, with both nearing a return to fitness ahead of a Premier League trip to Crystal Palace on Monday night.
‘Levi Colwill, we need to wait for Sunday to see if he’s available,’ said the manager. ‘Chalobah is doing well, he’s training with the team.’
Pochettino remains without Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Marc Cucurella and Lesley Ugochukwu, all sidelined for the foreseeable future.
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