Chelsea fans were forced to witness a familiar sight in the Champions League against Qarabag as Romeo Lavia limped off just eight minutes into the group stage game.
Despite Enzo Maresca’s efforts to protect Lavia, the Belgian now looks set for another lengthy spell on the sidelines with an apparent quad injury.
Despite being a very talented midfielder, Chelsea fans are starting to give up on Lavia due to his availability problems. He is still yet to complete 90 minutes since joining the club.
The latest problem is one of unfortunately many now that the Belgian has suffered, and The Chelsea Chronicle have broken down every injury Lavia has suffered since joining the club.
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Every Romeo Lavia injury suffered since he joined Chelsea
19 September 2023 – Ankle Injury (57 days)
Before even making an appearance for Chelsea after joining from Southampton, Lavia was sidelined for an ankle injury that kept him out of 10 games at the front end of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino was still working to get the best out of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez at the time, and having another option could have made a real change to Chelsea’s rough start to the campaign.
13 November 2023 – Lack of fitness (36 days)
When his rehab was completed, there was more than a month where Lavia still didn’t appear for the Blues as he endured a spotted rehab back to full fitness.
Maresca has certainly managed returns for the likes of Reece James and Wesley Fofana amid their own injury woes, however more than a month out saw him miss another five games.
28 December 2023 – Hamstring Injury (186 days)
The biggest injury Lavia has suffered in his career came directly after his first 45 minutes in a Chelsea shirt in their win over Crystal Palace.
The problem ended the midfielder’s first season in blue at this point, with many disappointed they hadn’t been able to see the youngster make any real mark at Stamford Bridge at this point.
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23 August 2024 – Hamstring Injury (24 days)
Lavia started Chelsea’s first game of 2024/25 season against Manchester City, however within a week was back on the sidelines with another hamstring problem.
This particular injury would unfortunately not be the last hamstring problem for the midfielder, who looked as if he was set to be a key part of Maresca’s first season in charge of the club.
9 December 2024 – Hamstring Injury (30 days)
Lavia was fit enough to start six games in a 10 game run towards the end of 2024, however this would come to an end after victory over Tottenham early in December.
At this point, Maresca was frequently experimenting with Caicedo at right-back, allowing the trio of him, Fernandez and Lavia to all feature at the same time.
16 January 2025 – Hamstring Injury (51 days)
56 minutes against Bournemouth was all Lavia could manage in his return to action, as he would suffer another hamstring injury following this appearance.
Ironically, this was the game which marked James’ return from injury woes. He is yet to suffer another serious problem since.
17 March 2025 – Thigh Problem (33 days)
Before even returning to action, there was a new thigh problem for Lavia to contend with.
After already missing eight games, he would be absent for another five before finally being available for selection.
29 June 2025 – Muscle Strain (88 days)
The trip to the United States and the Club World Cup did not spark the end of Lavia’s issues, and he would suffer a muscle strain midway through that competition.
Thankfully the Blues were not impacted on their road to victory, destroying PSG in the final.
5 November 2025 – Apparent Quad Injury (TBA)
Here we are. Just eight minutes into Chelsea’s draw with Qarabag, Caicedo was called upon from the bench to replace the stricken Lavia.
It remains to be seen how long he will be out for, however the sombre mood of Maresca in his post-match interview suggested it could be a while before we see Lavia in action again.