Chelsea star Romeo Lavia dealt further 'serious' setback amid injury return doubts

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia is set for a longer spell on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in training over the international break. The 19-year-old is yet to feature for the Blues following his £58m move from Southampton over the summer as manager Mauricio Pochettino wanted him to build up his initial fitness.

However, a reported muscle tear in his ankle means he missed out on the 0-0 draw against Bournemouth leaving his immediate future with the Blues up in the air. Lavia was the subject of a heated bidding war between Chelsea and Liverpool late on in the transfer window, with Jurgen Klopp's side treating him as a backup to their plan to snatch Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

But following the Blues' £115m acquisition of the Ecuadorian international, they turned their attention to Lavia instead only to have him join the Blues as well in a big-money move away from the Saints who had suffered relegation down to the Championship. Having not played in preseason, Pochettino wanted the star to catch up to the rest of the squad in terms of health and fitness before he gave him minutes on the pitch.

According to reports, the 19-year-old is set for at least another month more on the sidelines as he tries to recover from the injury he suffered a few weeks ago and is now not expected back until after the October international break which is after October 8. It means he's certain to miss games against Aston Villa, Brighton, and Burnley, with him unlikely to get a game in against London rivals Arsenal on October 21.

It means the youngster is likely eyeing up a return for late October or early November against either Brentford (October 28) or Tottenham (November 6) but how much he'll need to rebuild his fitness is unclear.