Mauricio Pochettino says Romeo Lavia’s injury is ‘a sad situation’ as he awaits confirmation about the length of his spell on the sidelines.
Midfielder Lavia has yet to play for Chelsea since his £58m arrival from Southampton and his debut has been further delayed after he suffered an ankle injury in training last week.
Chelsea fear Lavia will be out for at least six weeks though are awaiting the results of further checks next week.
Pochettino said: ‘We are really disappointed because he was training really well last week in the international break. He twisted his ankle and now we are waiting for Monday for the assessment from the doctor.
‘Hopefully it’s not a big issue but in the last week he has not been training with the team.
Mauricio Pochettino said that Romeo Lavia’s injury was a ‘sad situation’ after he trained well
Lavia joined Chelsea for £58m in the sumer but is yet to feature and could be out for six weeks
‘It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved again with the team. Now we need to wait for the assessment and hope it’s not a big issue for him and the team but he cannot help the team.’
Striker Armando Broja and defender Benoit Badiashile are back in full training after long-term knee and hamstring injuries, though Sunday’s trip to Bournemouth will be too soon for them to make their returns to the Chelsea squad.
Pochettino also provided an update on captain Reece James who suffered a hamstring injury following Chelsea’s opening game of the season against Liverpool.
‘He is recovering well,’ Pochettino said. ‘I cannot say if he is close or not because we assess him every single day. I think he starts doing things on the pitch with the ball. He is really well, desperate to come again and help the team. Hope he is close and can be available before the next international break.’
Chelsea have had an injury-hit start to the campaign which leaves them 12th in the Premier League with four points in four games.
Pochettino said: ‘It is very short, the squad. We are going to face Bournemouth with 14/15 players. Now it is important to recover players to be more competitive.’
He added: ‘For sure we will be in European competition next season. We need to believe in the quality.’
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk