Enzo Maresca says Chelsea are still in the dark over when Romeo Lavia will return from his quad injury.
Lavia has been out since injuring his quad and being forced off in the early stages of last month’s 2-2 draw with Azerbaijani side Qarabag in the Champions League.
The Belgian has not been in training with the Chelsea first team since as he nurses his latest injury, and it is feared that he could be out until the new year.
Lavia has endured an injury-plagued time with the Blues since joining from Southampton for £53million plus add-ons in August 2023.
“It's a muscle problem,” Maresca reiterated on Friday morning. “We don't know yet when he can be back.”
Pushed on whether Lavia is expected to be a short-term or long-term absentee, Maresca replied: “We don't know.”
Maresca also confirmed that Chelsea avoided suffering any fresh injuries from their miserable trip to Leeds on Wednesday, when the Italian made five changes to his starting line-up from the draw against Arsenal and his side delivered one of their worst performances of the season and lost 3-1.
Providing a team news update ahead of Saturday’s away game at Bournemouth, Maresca said: “Just Moi [Moises Caicedo] is suspended. We don’t have any new injuries.”
Caicedo sat out of the Leeds game as he began his three-game league suspension following a red card against Arsenal. He is also suspended against the Cherries and on December 13 against Everton.
