Questions needs to be asked about what is happening to Romeo Lavia at Chelsea as he continues to struggle to come back from his issues.
Voetbal Primeur cover comments from David Bombeke, who worked with the Chelsea midfielder on a one-to-one basis last year.
Lavia joined Chelsea in a €62.1m deal in August 2023 after impressing at Southampton the previous year following a move from Manchester City.
There was big excitement around the transfer at the time as the Blues spent big and reinvented their team, putting him alongside fellow big signing Moises Caicedo.
The pair are yet to properly work together, though, as Lavia has managed just 14 appearances for Chelsea to date totalling 628 minutes.
That has been due to ongoing injury problems with the midfielder suffering from an ankle injury, then fitness problems before suffering a hamstring injury in December 2023 that’s continues to be an issue.
That particular injury has so far seen him miss 47 games for Chelsea and spend 291 days out of action to date. His ongoing absence has been a source of frustration at Stamford Bridge and Dombeke, who has worked with the player in the past, admits questions need to be asked.
“It must be very frustrating for him,” he said when asked by Het Laatste Nieuws.
“A one-off serious injury is also a blow of course, but this… He rolls from injury to injury a bit and has been out for a long time a few times. Then questions gradually arise.
“Given the circumstances, he is dealing with it well. Of course, something like that creeps into your head, but Romeo realizes that it can be solved. He does not see it fatalistically – this will stop one day, right?”
