Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has dismissed rumors that he had suffered another injury setback during pre-season.
Lavia, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Southampton last summer for £53 million, had to wait until December to make his first-team debut against Crystal Palace due to an ankle issue.
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However, after Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Palace, Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that Lavia had endured another major setback, this time a hamstring injury, limiting the 20-year-old to just one appearance last season.
Since then, Lavia has been in rehabilitation, working towards regaining full match fitness to be ready for the start of the 2024/25 season.
Recently, photos showed Lavia returning to first-team training with his teammates under new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Today, rumors circulated on social media suggesting Lavia had picked up another injury during a behind-closed-doors friendly at Cobham.
This afternoon, Lavia addressed these rumors on X, dismissing the speculation and criticizing the ‘shameless’ fans spreading false news ‘for a few likes.’
‘Weirdos honestly!’ Lavia wrote to his followers.
‘Take care of your family first before coming on here to spread fake news about a boy’s health.
‘All that for a few likes. Shameless.’
Last month, speaking to SPORTbible, Cole Palmer expressed confidence that Lavia would make a significant impact in the Premier League once he returned from his injury woes.
‘One person I’ve played with [who is good] is Romeo Lavia,’ the Chelsea and England attacker told SPORTbible.
‘We’ve not seen him because he’s been injured for a full year but I think he’s one that, when he gets playing, everyone will think, “Oh, he’s really good.”’
Lavia is undoubtedly eager to be involved when Chelsea kicks off their Premier League campaign at home against reigning champions Manchester City in a month.
The Belgian joined City as a 16-year-old from Anderlecht and made two appearances for the club before moving permanently to Southampton in 2022.