Romeo Lavia injury: Mauricio Pochettino reveals return date as Chelsea ace awaits debut

Sheffield United match will come too soon for Belgian
Marc Mayo16 December 2023

Mauricio Pochettino hopes Romeo Lavia will be in contention to make his Chelsea debut on the Christmas Eve trip to Wolves.

The Blues face Sheffield United today hoping to bounce back from consecutive defeats, and will have Christopher Nkunku in theIr squad for the first time.

Lavia and Nkunku have endured a similar start to life at Stamford Bridge, both joining in the summer before long spells on the sidelines. However, that wait is now coming to an end.

"Romeo Lavia will be fit in maybe one week or 10 days," Pochettino told reporters on Friday.

That means the Belgian midfielder will miss both the Blades visit and Tuesday's Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle.

The Christmas Eve game at Wolves and, failing that, the subsequent meeting with Crystal Palace on December 27 appear to be Lavia's best bets for finally making his Chelsea bow.

The Blues paid £58million for the 19-year-old after a long-running transfer saga with Southampton, which saw Liverpool attempt to gazump them late in the summer transfer window.

Chelsea continue to battle a lengthy injury list despite Lavia and Nkunku's imminent return, with a decision set to be made soon over whether Reece James will undergo surgery.

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