Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has provided a worrying update on injuries to absent midfielders Enzo Fernandes and Romeo Lavia following Monday night's Premier League win over Wolves.
It was a big deal Win for Chelseafor the first time in the league in more than a month, and three points returned them to the top four in the table.
But the otherwise out-of-favour Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was given his first Premier League start for the club due to both Fernandes and Lavia being unavailable after the previous match.
The pair started together in midfield against Bournemouth, and Lafia got his chance because Moises Caicedo was temporarily repurposed as a right-back. But both of them suffered muscle problems that kept them out of Wolverhampton's visit to Stamford Bridge.
Lafia has a more serious problem. But the most disturbing aspect is that even after several days, Maresca admitted that there is no known time frame for the recovery of both of them.
“Romeo is more important than Enzo,” he told reporters. “We don't know yet how long they will be out. Hopefully it won't be too long. (It's) muscle fatigue or a muscle problem. We need to wait a bit. They were both against Bournemouth.”
Fernandez was the captain Chelsea For most of the season, although club captain Reece James returned to the starting line-up on Monday and Impressed against Matheus Cunha. Lavia managed a string of matches in October and November, but his first Premier League appearance against Bournemouth was disappointing since recovering from a previous hamstring injury.
Chelsea's midfield depth without Fernandes and Lavia is weak. There were no reserve midfielders on the bench on Monday night, with doubts over whether Dewsbury Hall lives up to expectations.
Defenders Benoit Badiashelli and Wesley Fofana also remain out, but the good news is that Levi Colwell has been declared 'better now' and should be available to face Manchester City on Saturday.
