by Chelsea will once again be without Romeo Lavia for their Boxing Day match against Fulham, but manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed the midfielder is now “much, much better”.
Lavia has not played for Chelsea since their thrilling 4-3 Premier League win at Tottenham on December 8, suffering a hamstring injury which has since kept him out against Brentford and Everton.
The 20-year-old was also left out of Conference League fixtures with Astana and Shamrock Rovers, but he surely wouldn’t have been involved in those games anyway given Maresca’s rotation policy in that competition.
Lavia’s absence has been key for Chelsea, with the former Southampton midfielder playing an influential role under Maresca this season after missing almost all of his first season at Stamford Bridge through injury.
Although the Blues won’t have him back for the west London derby at home to local rivals Fulham on Boxing Day, he is now improving, with Chelsea also facing a trip to struggling Ipswich next week before to start 2025 with another London derby at Crystal Palace.
“Romeo is still recovering,” Maresca said of Lavia in his pre-Fulham press conference on Christmas Eve. “He is much, much better. He is on the field and working but he is not ready for the next game.
While Lavia will not be fit to face Fulham, Chelsea will have Marc Cucurella back available after serving his second suspension of the season for the goalless draw at Everton after being sent off after the full-time whistle against Brentford.
Captain Reece James remains absent after taking part in some training at Cobham recently, with Maresca still facing a shortage of defenders with Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile also injured.
Chelsea are also still without Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk, who remains provisionally suspended from football pending the results of a “B” sample having recently tested positive for a banned substance following an “abnormal drug test result”. ‘routine urine’.
Mudryk insists he never knowingly used a banned substance and has vowed to prove his innocence.
