This weekend, Chelsea travels to West Ham United, where Enzo Maresca will be hoping to select between Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto, but it looks improbable right now.
The pair is making good progress, but as part of their rehabilitation program, they still attend certain sessions at Cobham. “On Tuesday, Romeo Lavia and Malo Gusto resumed their modified training regimen as they proceed with their injury recuperation,” the team announced on their official X account.
Lavia and Gusto were spotted on the grass at Chelsea’s training facility in Surrey earlier in the week, which led fans to believe the two are healthy ahead of this weekend’s trip to the London Stadium. That doesn’t seem to be the case, though, as the club’s brief statement reveals that they are still taking part in “modified sessions” four days (with images released on Tuesday) before to the West Ham game.
Due to a hamstring issue, Belgian midfielder Lavia has not played since the Conference League playoff matchup against Servette in the first leg. Unfortunately, Lavia’s 20-year-old career has begun with yet another set of issues after many injuries caused him to miss nearly the whole 2023–24 season.
In the meantime, up until Chelsea’s victory against Bournemouth this past Saturday, Gusto has been a constant in their Premier League matches. Due to a thigh issue, the Frenchman hobbled off during the second half of the Blues’ 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace before the international break. As a result, the right-back was left off the France Under-21 team.
Maresca probably won’t decide until closer to the scheduled time, although she probably thought Gusto would be well enough for this weekend. Reece James is currently sidelined due to a hamstring injury, and Axel Disasi did not play well in Chelsea’s victory over the Cherries over the weekend, so the team has a problem at right-back.
Following his 45-minute cameo at the Vitality Stadium on Monday, Jadon Sancho was granted an additional day of recovery. The winger returned to training on Tuesday. On his Chelsea debut, the 24-year-old played brilliantly, setting up Christopher Nkunku for the game-winning goal in minute 86.
Similarly, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Nicolas Jackson, and Levi Colwill resumed their training in Cobham. Due to illness, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Enzo Fernandez were unable to participate in the victory over Bournemouth. However, this week, they have resumed their regular training sessions with the hopes of playing on Saturday afternoon against the Hammers.
Chelsea will be playing away from home again, although, under Maresca, the Blues have performed better when travelling. The Italian has won his first two Premier League games as Chelsea’s head coach; the team defeated Wolves 6-2 last month and then defeated Bournemouth 1-0 a few days ago. Both of these victories have occurred away from home.
At the London Stadium, Maresca is anticipated to select a full-strength lineup; however, a lot of rotation is anticipated in the following few days when Chelsea hosts Barrow in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday. The Blues will host Barrow of League Two on their first of four straight home games (in all competitions) as they attempt to gain some momentum under Maresca for the first time.