Lavia is still to make his debut after joining in a £58m deal (Picture: Getty)
Romeo Lavia is facing six weeks out after the Chelsea midfielder suffered an ankle injury in training last week.
The 19-year-old midfielder joined the Blues from Southampton in a £58million deal in August but is still waiting to make his debut for the club.
Lavia has been working on his fitness at Cobham as he gets up to speed under Mauricio Pochettino but his introduction to the team was further delayed by an injury suffered last week.
With the manager already dealing with a lengthy injury list, Lavia is also set for a spell on the sidelines.
The Mail report the Belgian has undergone scans which have revealed ligament damage. While Chelsea are still to confirm the severity of the problem, there are concerns he will be unavailable for at least a month and a half.
That timeline could rule him out until after next month’s international break when Chelsea return to action against Arsenal on 21 October.
In the meantime, Lavia could miss league games against Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Fulham and Burnley in addition to the Carabao Cup third round clash with Brentford.
Lavia has been working on his fitness behind the scenes (Picture: Getty)
Lavia, who was also courted by Manchester United, turned down a move to Liverpool last month to join Chelsea just days after Moises Caciedo made the same decision, arriving for a club record fee from Brighton.
Lavia was Southampton’s standout player last season as the Saints failed in their bid to stay in the Premier League, leaving the south coast after just one year following his £14m arrival from Manchester City.
Chelsea have endured a tough start to the new season, winning just one of their opening four games – at home to newly promoted Luton Town.
The Blues fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest prior to the international break and head to Bournemouth on Sunday.
Pochettino has had to content with a number of injury problems with Christopher Nkunku, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Carney Chukwuemeka and Trevoh Chalobah among those currently sidelined.
MORE : Chelsea handed boost as Mykhailo Mudryk trains with Ukraine after injury scare against England
MORE : John Obi Mikel jokes that Chelsea ‘need to bring back’ himself and his former teammates
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Injuries continue to mount up for Mauricio Pochettino…