Journalist shares the real reason why Romeo Lavia has not been seen in Chelsea training yet

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Romeo Lavia has not trained with the main Chelsea group since signing because he’s not fully fit.

That is according to well-respected journalist Simon Phillips.

Phillips reported via his Substack on Wednesday that Romeo Lavia, 19, is currently doing some individual work on the training pitches at Cobham.

It is understood that the summer signing didn’t get much of a pre-season with Southampton before his move to Chelsea happened this month, which is why he’s building up his fitness right now with individual work.

Phillips added that one source told him the Belgian midfielder could get to make his first-team debut for the Blues in next week’s Carabao Cup second round tie at home to AFC Wimbledon.

Chelsea fans are desperate to see Lavia out on the pitch making his debut, but it sounds like they’ll have to wait until after Friday night’s Premier League contest against Luton Town.

READ: Chelsea vs Luton Town: How to Watch, TV Channel UK, Team News and More

Lavia’s absence from the matchday squad against West Ham now makes a lot more sense.

Darren Bent recently told talkSPORT he thinks Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino will put Lavia straight into the XI when he’s available.

Our guess is the Blues head coach will at least want to try out a midfield trio of Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo at some stage.

Chelsea really don’t need another name added to their long injury list, so it makes sense to be cautious with Lavia.

The cup tie against AFC Wimbledon could be a good one for the club to ease the defensive midfielder into next week.