Romeo Lavia is set to be out for at least a month after suffering a quadricep injury during Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Qarabag.
Lavia, who has struggled with injuries throughout his Chelsea career, was substituted after just eight minutes against Qarabag and missed the Blues’ 3-0 win over Wolves on Saturday.
The 21-year-old, who has yet to complete a full 90 minutes for Chelsea, has started just four times this season after suffering an injury during the Club World Cup, but is now set to spend another lengthy period on the sidelines.
Lavia has made 29 appearances in two and a half years since his £53million move from Southampton, and his latest injury comes as a huge blow to Chelsea, who have been careful to ease the midfielder back into action.
Despite a rigorous fitness plan, which restricted Lavia to playing just one game a week, the Belgian international is now expected to miss games against Burnley, Barcelona, Arsenal, Leeds, Bournemouth, and Atalanta.
Lavia’s injury comes at a time when Enzo Maresca had been keen to rotate his options in midfield, with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez both playing through pain in recent weeks as Chelsea’s injury problems mount.
Chelsea are up to third in the Premier League table after their 3-0 win over Wolves, but face a hectic fixture schedule after the international break.
The Blues hope to be able to welcome back Cole Palmer and Benoit Badiashile after the internationals, but Levi Colwill and Dario Essugo remain long-term absentees.
