Chelsea star Romeo Lavia drops major injury return hint for best-case Enzo Maresca scenario

Chelsea star Romeo Lavia has hinted he is edging closer to a return from the hamstring injury that has kept him out for the last four weeks. The Belgium international, following a £53million move from Southampton in 2023, saw his debut campaign at Stamford Bridge riddled with injury and those issues have continued into the 2024/25 season.

Despite getting a full pre-season under his belt and also starting the Premier League opener against Manchester City, Lavia picked up a new injury in late August. Blues boss Enzo Maresca initially described the muscular problem as "nothing serious" and then hinted he could be back involved against Bournemouth.

When asked for an update on his recovery before the trip to Vitality Stadium, Maresca said: “Romeo looks like [he’s] very close. Hopefully for the next game.” However, he did not feature on the south coast and though Chelsea were missing four senior midfielders, with Renato Veiga forced to play in midfield, they still picked up three points with Christopher Nkunku grabbing the winner.

Given Maresca's comments, the 20-year-old making the bench for West Ham was the expectation, however he was again absent. Nonetheless, Chelsea secured another away victory with Moises Caicedo delivering an expert midfield performance.

After missing the Bournemouth win, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were back involved and they could soon be joined by Lavia to give Maresca several midfield options. On his Instagram story, Lavia posted a picture of himself in training at Cobham with a timer emoji suggesting he is nearing a return.

Based on his subtle update, Lavia could return for the Carabao Cup clash against Barrow on Tuesday, September 24th. Given the length of his injury lay-off, being named in the starting XI seems unlikely but an involvement in the matchday squad is certainly possible.

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In terms of other stars missing through injury, Malo Gusto and Reece James remain absent with Wesley Fofana having to play in an unfamiliar right-back role against West Ham. James is yet to feature this season after picking up another injury while serving a three-match suspension, but he is working hard towards a return.

A return date for either full-back is currently unclear with Maresca remaining coy on Gusto before delving into James' rehabilitation process. "Wait until he's fit," the Chelsea boss said when asked about James. "It's a bit delayed but the most important thing for him, for any injury, is that they come back when they are 100% fit. Reece is still out."