Enzo Maresca confirms extent of Romeo Lavia & Wesley Fofana injury setbacks | OneFootball

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed both Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana have been sidelined by fresh muscle injuries.

The Blues once again lost Lavia in the build-up to the 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur leaving him on 14 appearances for the club since his arrival in 2023, and he was later joined on the sidelines by Fofana shortly before the victory.

Fofana had hoped to have shaken off his long-term injury issues when he established himself as a key player during the early months of Maresca's reign, but a hamstring injury sent him back to the sidelines in December. There were concerns it may have been a season-ending issue but the centre-back made his return early last month.

"A muscle problem a few days ago and we are waiting for some more checks," Maresca said of Fofana's issue, confirming it was the same for Lavia.

"Both same problem, muscle problem."

Maresca declined to offer a potential timeframe for the pair to return but confirmed Lavia was likely going to be the first to make his comeback.

"We don't know yet," the Chelsea boss explained. "We are waiting for both. Romeo looks a little bit better injury compared to Wes, in terms of probably Romeo can be back earlier than Wes.

"If you compare Romeo's games this season to last season, he's already improved. Because this season it was difficult to go the other way. But the target with Romeo is just to try to keep him fit as much as we can.

"The next year he'll play more games than this season."