Enzo Maresca gives timescale on James & Lavia’s Chelsea return

Enzo Maresca has offered an update on when he expects injured Chelsea duo Reece James and Romeo Lavia to return to fitness.

James has suffered from wretched injury problems over the last couple of years, with hamstring, knee and muscle problems meaning he’s played just 26 Premier League games in the last two seasons combined — as many as he played in the 2021/22 campaign alone.

Lavia, meanwhile, arrived at Chelsea from Southampton last summer in a deal worth up to £58m (per BBC Sport) but has played just three times for the club so far due to his own struggles with hamstring and ankle injuries.

The Belgian youngster did play 67 minutes of Chelsea’s Premier League opener against Manchester City and six minutes from the bench in their UEFA Conference League qualifying first-leg clash against Servette.

But another minor hamstring tweak kept him out of the 6-2 win away at Wolves at the weekend.

Enzo Maresca gives James and Lavia fitness update

Neither player has made the squad for Chelsea’s second-leg tie in Switzerland against Servette.

Naturally, Maresca was quizzed about their absences in his pre-match press conference but offered an optimistic outlook on their potential returns.

“Hopefully after the international break,” the Italian responded when asked for a timescale on James and Lavia’s return (via Football.London).

Of course, this weekend’s London derby at home to Crystal Palace is Chelsea’s last fixture before the international break, meaning the duo could return for the trip to Bournemouth on September 14th.