'Time Is Now' - Romeo Lavia Shares Promising Words After Three Injury-Riddled Seasons At Chelsea | OneFootball

It was a successful pre-season for Romeo Lavia and Chelsea. Video Credit: Absolute Chelsea

It has been three years since Romeo Lavia officially joined Chelsea from Southampton in a deal worth up to £58 million back on August 18, 2023.

The midfielder has spent most of his career at Chelsea on the sidelines, which is a pity given his talent.

An ankle injury already delayed the start of his career at Chelsea. The 22-year-old had to wait until late December to make his official debut for the club as a substitute in a 2-1 home win over Crystal Palace.

That was his only involvement in the 2023/24 season. Lavia sustained a significant thigh injury that forced him out for the rest of the campaign.

The 2024/25 season was an improvement for the Belgium international, but his hamstring issues remained a stumbling block.

He started in Chelsea’s season opener against Manchester City which ended in a 2-0 defeat in August 2024 and had to miss the following four games due to a hamstring problem.

He had four injury absences, mostly thigh injuries, and missed 33 games for Chelsea during the season.

Last season was another improvement, albeit still far from perfect. He only had two injury spells and missed a total of 10 games for the club for these issues.

However, it was largely because Chelsea completely changed their approach to managing the midfielder’s minutes.

Chelsea were very cautious, and Lavia finished last term with 21 appearances, one fewer game and 266 fewer minutes than in 2024/25.

Lavia’s promising words ahead of the fourth Chelsea season

On his third anniversary at Chelsea, Lavia posted several photos on social media, captioned: “Three years of foundations… Proud and grateful, but time is now.”

It seems the midfielder is aware that he is under pressure to deliver after injury-riddled seasons at Stamford Bridge.

He will be part of Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea squad this season, though it is unclear where he sits in the midfield pecking order.

On a more positive note, there have been some encouraging signs in the pre-season.

Lavia made his first 90-minute appearance in Chelsea’s 3-0 win over AC Milan in Jakarta, Indonesia, earlier this month.

Alonso insisted on keeping the midfielder on the pitch in that game to help him overcome a “mental block” after failing to play a full match in years.

“He was tired, but I said, 'Let him play, let him enjoy the 90 minutes',” Alonso explained after the game. “When he finished, he was exhausted. So I think he's really happy.”

It is clearly getting harder for Chelsea to justify reserving a spot in the squad for Lavia, whose injury record makes him quite unreliable.

However, Lavia is still quite young, and his potential may be something Chelsea deem worth gambling on.

Even some of his Chelsea teammates, including Cole Palmer, recognise Lavia’s footballing ability.

“When he’s fit, he’s the best ever,” Palmer told TNT Sports when explaining his decision to pick Lavia in his Chelsea five-a-side team.

The question is: how do Chelsea keep him continually fit, and will they be able to do so?