Chelsea injury update: Romeo Lavia, Mykhailo Mudryk, Wesley Fofana latest news and return dates
Chelsea enjoyed a stellar week with wins over Aston Villa, Southampton and Tottenham and their injury concerns remain minimal.
With defenders Wesley Fofana and Reece James still weeks away from returns to training, manager Enzo Maresca had few issues to juggle in his large squad.
Mykhailo Mudryk missed all three games with an illness, while Romeo Lavia was withdrawn at half-time of the win at Spurs.
Here’s all the latest Chelsea injury news and return dates...
Romeo Lavia
Amid the jubilation of the win over Tottenham, Romeo Lavia was withdrawn at half-time amid an injury scare.
Maresca has confirmed the substitution was a precaution as he was unwilling to risk the midfielder’s fitness with options on the bench.
Malo Gusto replaced Lavia, and went to right-back, with Moises Caicedo moving into midfield.
“Unfortunately he felt something in his hamstring in the last minutes of the first half,” the Italian explained. Now, he’s walking without any pain. It was a small thing.
“Since we started, I don’t like to lose players for five, six, seven games in a row. Even if Romeo was playing fantastic, we tried to change because he had a problem.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Mykhailo Mudryk
Mykhailo Mudryk continues to be sidelined with an illness.
The Ukrainian has not featured since scoring in the 2-0 win over Heidenheim in the Conference League, having been struck down by sickness.
Talking to reporters before the win over Spurs, Maresca said: “The other one [to miss out] is still ill is Misha Mudryk and the rest are okay.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Wesley Fofana
Fofana is facing a number of weeks out after coming off worse from a tussle with Ollie Watkins earlier in December.
The centre-back, who has been an almost ever-present for Enzo Maresca this season, accidentally trod on the ball during the win over Aston Villa appeared to fall awkwardly before limping off.
Maresca confirmed after the game that the defender had suffered a hamstring injury that could see Fofana miss the entire festive fixture schedule.
"Unfortunately it is bad news,” he said. “A hamstring problem. These kind of things usually require three, four, five weeks.
“In this moment, we lose him for 10 or 12 games. In the way he was playing, it's a big loss for us but we have more players and we can find a solution.
“It's a big loss. He is doing fantastic but it is normal when you play this amount of games. Fortunately it was his first injury of the season but we will find a solution."
However, Fofana later took to social media to downplay his injury, writing on Instagram: “A slight muscle warning, as often happens after long injuries, nothing serious, the body is adjusting. We’ll come back stronger, as always. Trust your guy.”
Potential return date: Late December or January
Reece James
Chelsea captain James is again sidelined, having suffered another hamstring injury during a training session in November.
It is a familiar tale of woe for the right-back, and one which is expected to keep him sidelined until the New Year.
Asked for an update last week, Maresca said of Fofana and James: "They are both slowly getting better but as we said the other day, it is a matter of weeks.”
Potential return date: Unknown
