Although Chelsea still have a number of injury concerns, Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia appear likely to return to action in the near future.
This weekend, Chelsea will travel to Brighton in the Premier League in an effort to recover from their lackluster performance against Newcastle. The Blues’ unblemished streak across all competitions was terminated on Saturday at St. James’ Park by a significant defeat at the hands of the Magpies.
Mauricio Pochettino will be without Marc Cucurella and Reece James for the match against the squad of Roberto De Zerbi, as both are serving one-match suspensions. Fans of Chelsea are optimistic, however, that Christopher Nkunku and Romeo Lavia may be included in the squad for this weekend’s match.
Due to an injury sustained in the summer, Nkunku, who joined Chelsea from RB Leipzig for approximately £52 million, has yet to make his competitive debut for the club. Since suffering a knee injury in a preseason match against Borussia Dortmund in the United States, the 26-year-old forward has been sidelined.
Regarding the recovery of Nkunku and Lavia, Pochettino recently stated: “It’s difficult say [when Nkunku and Lavia will be back] because we need to assess them day by day. They are in a good condition.
“Nkunku a little ahead of Lavia. He was doing things with the group last week, still not fully recovered to be part of the squad.”
Lavia, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, has yet to make his Blues debut. A significant setback occurred last month on the adolescent midfielder’s road to rehabilitation, delaying his return until December.
Nkunku, as reported by the Evening Standard, has been engaging in individual training and has yet to demonstrate his fitness in time to face Brighton; similarly, Lavia’s chances of securing the match remain remote. Despite the fact that this would be an enormous boost for the Blues as they attempt to return to winning ways, neither player would be anticipated to start or play a significant number of minutes as they continue to recover and hone their skills.
