Chelsea handed major injury scare during international break
- Romeo Lavia suffered an injury during training on Friday
- Belgian midfielder is yet to make his debut after a £58m move from Southampton
- Mauricio Pochettino has a small group in training during the international break
By Tom Gott
Chelsea are once again sweating over the fitness of new signing Romeo Lavia after he limped out of training with an ankle injury on Friday.
Lavia joined from Southampton in a £58m deal late in the transfer window but is yet to make his debut, with Mauricio Pochettino admitting the 19-year-old had some work to do to get back to full fitness.
It was hoped that the international break would give Lavia the time he needed to work closely with Pochettino and rebuild his fitness, but numerous reports have now emerged stating the Belgian did not complete Friday's session.
Lavia is understood to have picked up an ankle problem, although there is not currently any mention of just how serious the injury is.
Club doctors will work closely with Lavia to determine the extent of the issue, which has left fans sweating over just when they will get their first glimpse of the summer signing.
Chelsea will take on Bournemouth when the Premier League returns on 17 September and Lavia's involvement against the Cherries now appears to be in real doubt.
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Pochettino, who estimated he would have just four senior players to work with during the break, had admitted he wanted to use the time to get his injured players back to speed.
"It will be useful to try to recover players," he said last week. "Nearly all of the squad will be away. I think it is going to be useful to be close to recovered players that can be added to the squad to be more competitive."
The boss is still working out his best midfield after a summer of massive recruitment which also saw Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Lesley Ugochukwu arrive for close to £200m combined.
Despite their immense spending, Chelsea are yet to see the results on the pitch this season. The Blues entered the international break sitting 12th in the Premier League with just four points from as many games.
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