Romeo Lavia’s journey back to full fitness persisted as he was observed undergoing gym sessions at Cobham, Chelsea’s training ground, on Thursday.
The £58 million acquisition has only made one appearance for the club this season, a 32-minute cameo against Crystal Palace in December. Lavia faced a lengthy recovery process after joining Stamford Bridge in August, compounded by a setback during his brief on-field stint over the festive period.
Nevertheless, Mauricio Pochettino has already confirmed that the Belgian will not be included in the lineup for the Carabao Cup final this weekend, per the Mirror.
Lavia has been spotted in training ground photos circulating on social media. Despite not participating in the rainy session at Cobham with his teammates, the 20-year-old seems to be making strides towards recovery, as he is shown diligently working out in the club gym.
There’s speculation that Lavia might make his return as early as the first week of March, but Chelsea will exercise caution in his comeback, considering his challenges this season.
Chelsea and Liverpool both suffering injury crisis ahead of Carabao Cup final
Chelsea may face the absence of eight players this weekend, with Carney Chukwuemeka, Thiago Silva, Benoit Badiashile, Marc Cucurella, Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and Lesley Ugochukwu all expected to be unavailable for the Carabao Cup final game, along with Lavia.
While there’s speculation about Silva potentially rejoining the squad, he hasn’t been captured in training sessions yet.
To add, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez has made his return to training this week.
Liverpool have also been plagued by injuries of late. Jurgen Klopp had to navigate the absence of 11 first-team players, including Diogo Jota, Alisson, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, during their victory against Luton Town.
Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah were also missing from the match, with their injuries under daily monitoring. It remains to be seen whether or not they’ll be involved at the weekend.