After six minutes in the clash against Qarabag, Romeo Lavia limped off the pitch, and Chelsea turned to Moises Caicedo. His return to the starting lineup lasted only 6 minutes before he fell, prompting an immediate change. Enzo Maresca was clearly upset by the shift in his midfield plan when they brought in Caicedo.
Lavia seemed to reach for a ball before falling and grabbing his leg. He took off his straps and walked away, looking sad as medical staff told him he couldn’t keep going. The event happened early in Chelsea’s Champions League trip to Qarabag, which forced a tactical change that put Caicedo at the base of midfield.
Before the game, Lavia’s choice was framed as a controlled return after a lot of problems over the past two seasons. Maresca had talked about managing the 21-year-old’s workload with other players who were also recovering.
He had noticed that Lavia’s progress had been stop-and-go since he joined from Southampton in 2023. As of this week, the youngster had not played 90 minutes in a Chelsea shirt, which shows how careful the staff has been.
Chelsea’s busy schedule and constant rotation have made this the latest setback. Caicedo was supposed to be managed for only a few minutes, but he was brought in right away, which meant that the Ecuadorian couldn’t rest as planned.
In the next few hours, the club will look at Lavia and give more information after the first tests. Because he has had problems with his hamstrings and muscles recently, the medical staff will probably be careful to avoid them happening again during a crowded run.
Enzo Maresca’s Comments on Romeo Lavia’s Fitness
Enzo Maresca laid out a cautious plan for Romeo Lavia’s playing time this season, stressing the importance of managing him on a day-to-day basis after the midfielder’s long history of injuries at Chelsea. Before this week’s game against Qarabag, Maresca said Lavia is available but will be handled with care to avoid any more problems:
“[Romeo] is training with us, is okay and is 100 per cent fit, but we have to be careful with him because we don’t want him out again.”
Maresca compared Lavia’s current stage to Reece James’ rehabilitation path for 2024–25, saying that both focused on controlled workloads and role-specific use:
“Romeo is ready to play… The target for Romeo is to help him and bring him to the same condition as Wes and Reece, where they can play games… Hopefully, we can do the same with Romeo.”
Lavia returned to regular training and has been getting more minutes in recent league games. This comes after a 2024–25 season in which he played only 22 games after having a lot of problems in 2023–24.