Enzo Maresca sweats on Chelsea star's fitness as injury truth revealed after Arsenal draw

Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco has confirmed Romeo Lavia is suffering with a hamstring injury.

The 20-year-old midfielder was named in the Belgium squad for the ongoing international break but missed Thursday's 1-0 defeat to Italy. Lavia came off in the 68th minute during Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Arsenal last weekend with a slight hamstring problem but still joined up with the rest of the Belgium squad for their UEFA Nations League fixtures.

Lavia, though, is not expected to take any part in the Red Devils' clash with Israel this evening. "Some players had problems immediately after the [last] game, and we already knew in the evening that they would not be available," Tedesco said. "Then there were injuries today like Romeo Lavia.

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"[Romelu] Lukaku has a knee problem, he felt it after the game. It was not agreed before that he would leave after a game. [Arthur] Theate and Lavia have hamstring problems.

"It's like they're trying to escape. They really have something. To be honest, I've never had to deal with this kind of situation before.

"I don't have any injured players anymore and it feels a bit like the season is over. I've never experienced this before.

"Out of a pre-selection of 51 players, 20 were already unavailable before the camp. Now another five are gone. That is just the way it is. We have to concentrate on the guys we have here now and certain that we'll have a good team."

Lavia has established himself as an integral part of the Chelsea first-team in the early parts of this season. The Belgian missed almost the entirety of last campaign because of injury problems but has been a bit more fortunate this time around.

"Last season was frustrating because it was hard," Lavia said in an interview that included football.london over the summer. "You're young and you want to play.

"You're getting to know your body as well, which is sometimes unfair because you feel like you're doing everything right to get back but then nature sometimes decides in a different way. It was just about understanding that and growing as a person.

"It was frustrating but it was more in the head, and now it has helped me. Injuries can happen.

"I would say that it was unlucky and I tried to catch up every time. My body let me down a couple of times because I felt like I was doing everything right. I wouldn't blame anything."

However, this latest setback will concern Enzo Maresca, who will be hoping the midfielder is fit enough to take on Leicester City in the early kick-off on Saturday afternoon.