Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia is struggling with a hamstring injury on international duty with Belgium.
The former Southampton star has enjoyed a superb Premier League campaign in Enzo Maresca’s new-look midfield, forming a formidable partnership with Moises Caicedo with Enzo Fernandez dropping out of the side as a result.
The 20-year-old missed the entire 2023-24 campaign following his £50m arrival at Stamford Bridge, missing four games in August and September with a hamstring issue.
Lavia was forced off in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal prior to the international break with the midfielder insisting he ‘should be fine’ after meeting up with his international teammates for games against Italy and Israel.
The Chelsea star did not feature against Italy and will not be involved against Israel tonight with Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco insisting all the injury problems within his squad are genuine concerns.
‘Some players had problems immediately after the [last] game, and we already knew in the evening that they would not be available,’ the Belgium boss said.
‘Then there were injuries today like Roméo Lavia. […] Lukaku has a knee problem, he felt it after the game. It was not agreed before that he would leave after a game. [Arthur] Theate and Lavia have hamstring problems.
“It’s not like they’re trying to escape. They really have something. To be honest, I’ve never had to deal with this kind of situation before.
‘I don’t have any injured players anymore and it feels a bit like the season is over. I’ve never experienced this before.
‘Out of a pre-selection of 51 players, 20 were already unavailable before the camp. Now another five are gone. That’s just the way it is.
‘We have to concentrate on the guys we have here now and it’s certain that we’ll have a good team.’
Chelsea will hope Lavia will be fit when they return to action against Leicester City on 23 November.
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