Mauricio Pochettino defends Chelsea training methods after Romeo Lavia injury setback

Mauricio Pochettino insists training methods are not behind Chelsea's ongoing injury battle after another setback saw midfielder Romeo Lavia ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.

Lavia will end his debut season with just 32 minutes of playing time to his name. Having arrived unfit, he suffered an ankle injury which kept him out until December, before his short cameo off the bench against Crystal Palace led to a hamstring problem which has seen Lavia sidelined ever since.

While the midfielder's fitness battle may have been the biggest at Chelsea this season, the Blues have faced countless injury issues all year. The latest update from the club included no fewer than nine players currently sidelined, with Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka and Robert Sanchez the latest to join the party in the treatment room.

Pochettino and his supposedly intense training methods have been blamed by many for Chelsea's fitness issues, but the boss insisted Lavia's struggles should prove he cannot be held accountable.

Discussing Lavia, Pochettino said: "It's difficult to explain the situation because I am not a doctor and be precise with the information. The most important thing is to make clear that in nine months, only a few weeks he was with us, training with us.

"He arrived and he could not train. When the club signed him, he was injured...I think it was his hip, or I don't know, that was the problem. Then when he started to train with us, he suffered a knock in his feet.

"After he was training with us for a few weeks, he was available against Wolverhampton but he didn't go in, and then against Crystal Palace he played 30 minutes and got injured in his quad and never again had the possibility to train with us.

"I don't know, you showed me, 'the methods of Pochettino are so hard', no? But he didn't train with me. He is sad. It is a sad situation. We hope he can become stronger and for sure, we are going to help him to become stronger and be available for the pre-season and the next season to show his quality."

Pochettino added that he has only faced a similar injury issue in one of the 15 seasons of his management career.

The next test for Pochettino comes on Saturday against Premier League strugglers Burnley, but the boss insists Chelsea cannot afford to underestimate Vincent Kompany's outfit.

"It's always going to be difficult," he said of Saturday's opponents. "I think it's a team that plays very free, they feel freedom to play. They run a lot, they are a very physical team with good players, good young players.

"It is going to be tough. For us, it's always tough because we need to be in a different place. We need to win, we need to perform well. Always in the Premier League you are never going to find an easy game. Burnley are a very exciting team to watch. It is going to be difficult."

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