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Mauricio Pochettino offers concerning Romeo Lavia injury update.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that summer addition Romeo Lavia has yet to resume running as he recovers from an ankle ailment.
Lavia, a £58 million summer transfer from Southampton, didn’t make his Chelsea debut until after the international break in September because he wasn’t fully healthy when he arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Lavia was unfortunately forced to return to the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in practice, and sources stated the 19-year-old could not be able to make his eagerly anticipated debut until beyond this month’s international window. Chelsea will play again on October 21 against Arsenal after taking on Burnley on Saturday.
As Pochettino has stated, Lavia is still a long way from being fit, so it now seems like he will have to wait even longer for his first appearance in a Chelsea jersey.
“I don’t believe [Lavia will be back after the international break],” Pochettino admitted. “I cannot tell you but he is still not running. After the international break he will not be back.”
Lavia’s situation was disappointing, but Pochettino reassured Chelsea supporters that Moises Caicedo, another costly midfielder, should play against Burnley.
In the closing minutes of Chelsea’s victory against Fulham, when Mykhailo Mudryk went down with an injury, Caicedo hobbled out, but Pochettino anticipates both players to contribute against Burnley on Saturday.
“Both in the squad,” Pochettino confirmed. “We will decide whether they are available from the start or not.”
Caicedo struggled at first in Chelsea but rapidly seemed to have settled comfortably, winning Pochettino over in the process.
“Of course, it is about time,” Pochettino said of Chelsea’s record signing. “It is a player you already know from the Premier League but with no pre-season. In a situation where he was not involved for a few months. It is normal he needs time to settle in a new club.
“Even if you are happy and everything is perfect, always it is difficult but the situation that happened in the summer and now it is like pre-season.
“We are happy, we think he was really good against Fulham. Unlucky a little bit because he now needs to go on international duty and play and travel, and it is always difficult to go to South America. It doesn’t help the situation but we need to accept and try to help him in a different way.”