Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has given a worrying update on Romeo Lavia’s condition following the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Qarabag. The young midfielder was injured in the opening minutes of Wednesday night’s match at the Tofik Bakramov Stadium and was replaced by Moises Caicedo.
At a press conference in Baku, Maresca said: “We feel sorry for him, especially for him. He cannot be in good condition for a long time, for a long period of time. We will see. It is too early to understand what kind of injury it is. I think it is his quadriceps.” Maresca compared his situation to that of Reece James and acknowledged the risk of starting Lavia. Ahead of his long trip to Azerbaijan, he outlined his plans for the Belgian player.
“Romeo’s main goal right now is to stay healthy,” Maresca said before the match. “Don’t get hurt. Romeo for me at the moment is like Reese was a year ago in terms of a back for the first time in a while. We have to manage him every minute, every day, every second.”
“And his goal is just to keep him healthy. So he’s training with us. He’s fine. He’s 100 percent healthy. But we have to pay close attention to him because we don’t want him to be out again and finally enjoy being a football player.”
Maresca added: “Against Forest, we expected him to play 45 minutes. Then at Ajax, I think he played an hour and 70 minutes. The other day against Tottenham, when he came on, he was very good.”
“We are happy with Romeo, we are happy with his progress and the only thing we want is to keep him healthy. So I want to have Romeo on the pitch all the time, but it is also my duty to try to protect him.”
Lavia looks likely to join Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto in the treatment room at Cobham. The former, who has suffered a groin injury this season, could be ready to face Barcelona at Stamford Bridge later this month.
On Tuesday, Maresca explained: “We hope so, but we’ll try to plan and schedule with Cole, at first. Then we’ll have to review it. So right now, in this moment, we’re taking it day by day with Cole.”
“He hasn’t taken part in any sessions with the team and we have Benoît Badiashile who will probably be available after the international break. That’s big news for us.”
As for Neto, he sustained a minor injury in the 1-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. Asked about the Chelsea winger, Maresca said: “Yes, it’s not a problem. It’s just a small problem. So we’re trying to protect him. He’s not involved in tomorrow’s game.”
