Lavia out for month with latest injury

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia is set to miss at least a month with a quadriceps injury.

The 21-year-old's time at Stamford Bridge has been blighted by fitness problems.

Lavia was injured four minutes into the 2-2 Champions League draw at Qarabag last week.

It was only his fourth start since returning from an injury suffered at the Club World Cup.

Since joining Chelsea from Southampton in a £53m move in 2023 - having turned down Liverpool - Lavia has struggled with repeated injuries.

He has made 29 appearances but missed 88 matches during two and a half seasons at Chelsea.

Hamstring, thigh and other unspecified injuries have prevented Lavia, who has yet to complete a full 90 minutes for Chelsea, from maintaining fitness.

The club have tried to manage his workload by limiting his minutes and restricting him to one match per week.

Captain Reece James is now considered past the worst of his injury problems after following a similar plan.

Lavia is expected to miss games against Burnley, Barcelona, Arsenal, Leeds, Bournemouth and Atalanta.

Chelsea are third in the Premier League following Saturday's 3-0 win over Wolves.