Enzo Maresca provides Romeo Lavia injury update after early sub in Qarabag draw | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has commented on Romeo Lavia's latest injury, which he sustained early in Chelsea's 2-2 Champions League draw with Qarabag on Wednesday.

It was clear that Maresca's initial plan was to rest both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, who played the full 90 minutes in the win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

The plan lasted just eight minutes after Lavia was forced out with an injury and had to be replaced by Caicedo.

"We feel for him because he's not able to be fit for a long, long period," Maresca said in his post-match press conference.

"We will see now, as it's too early to understand what kind of injury. Hopefully it's not a big injury."

Maresca also added that rather than a hamstring injury, initial checks suggested a quadricep issue instead.

The fact that Lavia could still walk off the pitch on his own should at least be a positive sign.

Per Transfermarkt, the Belgium international has missed a total of 34 games for Chelsea since the start of the 2024/25 season, mostly due to hamstring issues.

As Maresca pointed out, it is a shame that he has picked up a fresh injury since his return to the team has proved useful in reducing Caicedo's workload.

Since his return in September, Lavia has made seven appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, although he has yet to play a full 90-minute game during this period.

"I would like to have Romeo on the pitch always but it's my duty to protect him," Maresca said about Lavia's limited minutes a couple of days ago.

"The main target for Romeo is to be fit. Don't get any injuries. For me, in this moment, Romeo is where Reece was more or less one year ago."

Chelsea still have Andrey Santos to provide cover for the number six position, but depending on Lavia's injury situation, we could see both Reece James and Malo Gusto operate in midfield more often.