£58m Chelsea player not seen in training yesterday, Mauricio Pochettino said he was struggling to run

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One Chelsea player has not been spotted this week in first team training with his teammates ahead of their return to action at the weekend.

Pictures on the official club app don’t show Romeo Lavia in action, with there being a photo of the entire squad coming out that did not involve the midfielder.

Lavia finally made his debut for the Blues in the penultimate game of 2023, with him coming off the bench as a second half substitute against Crystal Palace.

When the game was in the balance at 1-1, the addition of the £58m man certainly improved their performance on the pitch.

This eventually resulted in all three points, after Noni Madueke’s late penalty rescued what could have been a particularly difficult situation for Mauricio Pochettino.

However, the manager was quick to come out after the game and warn people that he had suffered a problem during his first outing. He claimed the player was struggling to run at times.

Lavia not in training

It later emerged that there was an issue, with it remaining to be seen just how long he was set to be on the sidelines for.

It now seems as if he is going to face a spell on the side again after he was not pictured in first team training this week.

The timing is a huge shame for the former Southampton man, with the FA Cup tie against Preston at the weekend bringing a huge opportunity for Pochettino to rotate his squad during a busy period of fixtures.

Enzo Fernandez was seen back on the pitch late last time out against Luton, which will be a massive boost for the manager after he had been missing for a few games before that.

He will likely be partnering Moises Caicedo again in the coming weeks, who has been improving and becoming more important every time he plays for the club.