Latest Enzo Maresca comments hand Chelsea a huge boost at crucial stage of the season | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Romeo Lavia has returned to training as the midfielder continues his recovery from injury.

Lavia has been plagued by injury issues since he joined from Southampton in the summer of 2023 in a deal worth up to £58m.

The 21-year-old played just 32 minutes of football last season, and whilst he’s been move available this season he’s still only made 12 appearances in all competitions.

Maresca confirms Lavia back in training

When the Belgian has played he’s shown the quality he possesses and is arguably one of Chelsea’s most important players, with Paul Merson claiming his absence is impacting the performance of the team.

However, like with Wesley Fofana he simply can’t be relied upon to be available on a regular basis, and Lavia hasn’t featured for Chelsea since the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on January 14th.

The absence of Lavia has left Chelsea light in midfield with extra strain being put on both Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.

Lavia hasn’t featured since the middle of January. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

The Blues did sign Mathis Amougou from St Etienne in the January window, but he’s only made one appearance from the bench since joining the club, and Maresca has already said the 19-year-old won’t feature much.

Chelsea are expected to have a number of their injured stars back after the international break, and speaking ahead of Thursday’s Conference League tie with FC Copenhagen Maresca provided a positive update on Lavia.

“Romeo has started to train with us in the last two days,” he told his pre-match press conference.

“Slowly, slowly, we are getting players back and ready for the final rush of the season.”

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Lavia is unlikely to return before the international break, and given his issues Chelsea will rightly err on the side of caution with his return.

Maresca had previously said he hoped Lavia would be back for the final ten games of the season, but that now seems very unlikely, and if Chelsea can get him back for at least the last seven or eight games that will be a huge boost in their pursuit of Champions League football.