Chelsea literally had to battle to win three points against Tottenham Hotspur in another fiery London derby between the two sides.
Chelsea went 2-0 down in the first half, while an elbow from Dejan Kulusevski on Romeo Lavia left its mark on the midfielder.
After the game, Lavia took to Instagram to show his battle wound, but he will feel that it was well worth it after Enzo Maresca‘s men managed to earn all three points.
The Belgian did not come out for the second half, but Jamie Carragher was really impressed with Lavia‘s performance.
Dejan Kulusevski of Tottenham Hotspur checks on Romeo Lavia of Chelsea after a clash during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC a...
Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
Romeo Lavia’s head injury
Lavia received a real blow to his head just before the first half concluded and showed the damage that Kulusevski had caused on Instagram.
It does not look too serious, though. What Enzo Maresca will be concerned about is the 20-year-old’s hamstring.
A cut on Romeo Lavia's head.
The Chelsea manager confirmed after the game that he substituted Lavia at half-time because of an injury to that muscle.
The Blues have another tough London derby against Brentford next, so Maresca will want Lavia available for that. But it now looks like he could miss that fixture.
MORE CHELSEA STORIES
Is Enzo Maresca happy with Romeo Lavia right now?
Lavia missed practically the whole of last season because of injury, managing to make just one appearance in the Premier League.
However, the Belgium international has been fit for most of this campaign and has pleased Maresca with his performances.
The 44-year-old, though, still thinks that Lavia can improve and said as much before Chelsea’s 5-1 win against Southampton during the week.
Maresca discussed Lavia in his pre-match press conference and said: “Romeo is doing very well with us but because I know him well, he can do much better.”
All in all, the Italian will be really happy with his midfield options right now. Lavia, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are all quality footballers.
Maresca just needs Lavia to stay fit, which is, unfortunately for Chelsea, proving to be a problem again.
Related Posts