December 28th 2023.
Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea team were relieved to secure a much-needed win over Crystal Palace last night. Despite the victory, however, there was cause for concern as Romeo Lavia, who had made his long-awaited Chelsea debut, had to be replaced after suffering an injury setback.
The 19-year-old midfielder had joined the Blues from Liverpool in the summer and had been out on the sidelines since then due to an ankle injury. His return would have provided some much-needed respite to the team, as Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Conor Gallagher had featured in the majority of Chelsea's matches this season.
Lavia was finally brought in shortly before the hour mark of last night's game, and although he had several nice touches, he left the pitch in some discomfort after suffering a thigh problem. Worried by the incident, Pochettino said: "I'm a little bit worried about Lavia. He finished with some issues, but I hope it's not a big issue."
Christopher Nkunku, another summer signing whose season has been hampered by injuries, also put in a promising performance before he was taken off in the second half due to fatigue.
Pochettino noted that although there were some good combinations, Lavia and Nkunku need more time and games to fully adapt to the team. He added: "It's not just one, two, three or four in 45 minutes. I think we need him to be more involved, but it's normal. It's his first 70 minutes. I think he was a little bit tired and struggled a little bit after 45 minutes. But it's normal. He needs time, and to play games. He needs to adapt to the team and the players are going to connect with him."
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