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Enzo Maresca confirms 'important' Chelsea injury boost ahead of Brighton as star returns

-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed a major injury boost ahead of this weekend's Premier League clash with Brighton.

The Blues will welcome Romeo Lavia back into the fold after missing the last five weeks with a hamstring injury he picked up in training. The 20-year-old - who joined Chelsea from Southampton in an initial £53million transfer- made just one substitute appearance last season after suffering from a number of injury issues.

However, Lavia was one of the standout players from Chelsea's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the opening day of the campaign before a substitute appearance against Servette in the Europa Conference League.

"Romeo is back available,’ Maresca said at his pre-match press conference at Cobham this afternoon. "We will see [whether he can start the game or be one of the substitutions]. We have one more session now and then we will decide. The important thing is he’s back and available, which is very good news.

"Everyone else is okay to face Brighton, the only one [who will be missing] is Reece [James]. With Reece, he is still out and there is no real update on him at the moment."

Lavia's return gives the Chelsea boss a selection headache in midfield, with possibility of starting the Belgian alongside Moises Caicedo in midfield. Maresca feels the latter of the duo can still get better but wants him to ignore any talk about his price tag.

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“He is a top player, he is very good,” Maresca added. “But like all top players he can improve things and for sure he can improve. The way he is playing in this moment is fantastic.

“About the price it is not a Moi (Caicedo) problem, it is the market that decides the price. Most of the time because clubs pay a lot of money for players, we expect that kind of player to always be the best.

“It is not like this. Moi has to enjoy, has to play, work hard but the most important thing is he has to always be happy and enjoy football, to not think about the price because it is not his problem.”