Chelsea injury news: Blues 'learn' Romeo Lavia timeframe, how many games could £53m signing miss?

Chelsea have reportedly learned how long Romeo Lavia could spend on the sidelines after his latest injury.

Since costing £53m in the summer of 2023, the midfielder has only racked up 30 competitive appearances for the Premier League giants.

Having being given time to recover from an issue in the summer, there was optimism that the Belgian was finding some consistency with regards to his fitness having made six appearances between September 27 and November 1.

However, within minutes of last Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Qarabag FK getting underway, the 21-year-old suffered another muscle injury.

In the press conferences that have followed, Maresca has revealed that Chelsea have needed to wait to determine a timeframe for Lavia's recovery.

Chelsea learn Lavia update

According to journalist Bobby Vincent of football.london, the update on Lavia has now arrived with the player expected to be sidelined for at least a month.

While the report suggests that Chelsea's medical staff will continue to monitoring Lavia, they will realistically take no risks when it comes to giving the green light to an eventual return.

Although a two-week international break is beneficial in this instance, Lavia is still in line to miss a hatful of matches from November 22 onwards.

Between that date and December 9, Chelsea are due to play six games in the Premier League and Champions League respectively.

Lavia will almost certainly be sidelined for fixtures against Burnley, Barcelona, Arsenal, Leeds United, Bournemouth and Atalanta BC.

As it stands, Lavia may potentially be targeting a return to the squad for the Premier League contest with Everton on December 13 or the trip to Cardiff City in the EFL Cup quarter-finals three days later.

Will Chelsea target Lavia replacement in January?

Having only accumulated 1,341 minutes of football across 30 appearances and never completed a full game for Chelsea, question marks remain only Lavia's longevity at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca is a big admirer of the former Manchester City starlet but his frequent unavailability is forcing the Italian to rely heavily on other players.

With Chelsea not in a position to recoup anywhere close to the transfer fee that they shelled out in 2023, they may start considering a loan exit for Lavia at some point in 2026.