What Chelsea’s Romeo Lavia has done to get himself fit for the new season

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Chelsea will be keeping their fingers crossed hoping their injury record in the new season is nowhere near as bad as the 2023/24 campaign.

The Blues were absolutely decimated by injuries to key players for large spells of last season.

Romeo Lavia, 20, was one of the Chelsea stars to be desperately unlucky. In fact, he only made one appearance during an extremely frustrating debut year at Stamford Bridge.

It was reported by journalist Simon Phillips via Substack in June that Lavia’s camp felt he was in great condition this summer. He’s actually followed up those claims by starting all five pre-season games on the United States tour and catching the eye for Enzo Maresca’s side.

• READ MORE: Cole Palmer made a prediction about Chelsea teammate Romeo Lavia a couple of months ago

Romeo Lavia has been putting in the hard yards

According to The Athletic, Lavia has been putting in the hard work to make sure he’s fit for pre-season and the start of the new term.

It is explained that the Belgium midfielder has done ‘exhausting exercises’ to get sharp. Also, the youngster had a club employee go away with him on holiday to maintain his fitness programme.

The report adds that Lavia’s regularly worn a VR headset, which helps recreate moments you’d expect on the pitch.

Like with any new manager, Maresca will aim to hit the ground running in the upcoming season as Chelsea boss. Based on pre-season, it looks like Lavia may be one of the most equipped players to help with that because he’s flourishing in friendly matches.

Chelsea begin their new Premier League campaign on Sunday 18 August at home to reigning champions Manchester City.

• READ MORE: Man City boss Pep Guardiola makes confident prediction about Enzo Maresca at Chelsea

Should Romeo Lavia start against Man City?

Yes, Lavia should be one of the first names on the team sheet when Chelsea kick off the new season in 10 days time.

Journalist Simon Phillips reported in May that Chelsea believed Lavia would thrive under Maresca. This comes after the duo previously crossed paths at Man City’s academy.

It’s certainly feeling like the deep-lying midfielder is a superb option for Maresca’s starting line-up, albeit the competition in midfield is tough and the season isn’t underway yet.

Chelsea fans will be looking at Lavia like a new signing because of how much football he missed last year. In that respect, he could be the most important new addition to the XI.