Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino has confessed that summer signing Romeo Lavia is yet to start running again as he seeks to overcome an ankle injury.
A £58m signing from Southampton during the summer, Lavia's Chelsea debut was delayed as he arrived at Stamford Bridge short on fitness, with Pochettino initially hopeful of unleashing the Belgian after September's international break.
Unfortunately, an ankle injury in training sent Lavia back to the sidelines and reports suggested the 19-year-old may have to wait until after this month's international window to make his long-awaited debut. Chelsea face Burnley on Saturday and will return to action against Arsenal on 21 October.
It now appears as though Lavia will have to wait even longer for his maiden outing in a Chelsea shirt as Pochettino has confirmed he is still a long way away from being ready.
"I don't believe [Lavia will be back after the international break]," Pochettino admitted. "I cannot tell you but he is still not running. After the international break he will not be back."
While it was bad news over Lavia, Pochettino assured Chelsea fans that another expensive midfielder, Moises Caicedo, should be involved against Burnley.
Caicedo limped off in the dying embers of the victory over Fulham, in which Chelsea also lost Mykhailo Mudryk to injury, but Pochettino expects both players to play a part against Burnley on Saturday.
"Both in the squad," Pochettino confirmed. "We will decide whether they are available from the start or not."
Caicedo endured a challenging start to life at Chelsea but quickly appears to have found his feet, impressing Pochettino in the process.
"Of course, it is about time," Pochettino said of Chelsea's record signing. "It is a player you already know from the Premier League but with no pre-season. In a situation where he was not involved for a few months. It is normal he needs time to settle in a new club.
"Even if you are happy and everything is perfect, always it is difficult but the situation that happened in the summer and now it is like pre-season.
"We are happy, we think he was really good against Fulham. Unlucky a little bit because he now needs to go on international duty and play and travel, and it is always difficult to go to South America. It doesn't help the situation but we need to accept and try to help him in a different way."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Mauricio Pochettino offers concerning Romeo Lavia injury update.