Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that Romeo Lavia will be a long-term absentee at Chelsea despite not making a single appearance for the club.

The 19-year-old is yet to make his debut for the Blues since his big-money signing from Southampton and according to the Argentinian manager, Lavia will not be appearing in a Chelsea shirt any time soon.

Romeo Lavia suffers long-term injury

In his press conference ahead of the Blues’ trip to Bournemouth on Sunday, Pochettino said, “We are really disappointed as he was training really well. In the international break, he twisted his ankle. 

🗣️ Mauricio Pochettino on Romeo Lavia's ankle injury: "We're really disappointed because he was training really well. In the international break, he twisted his ankle. We hope it's not a big issue. It's a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved. We don't know how… pic.twitter.com/7WBAiGsaxD

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) September 15, 2023

It is yet to be determined the length of Lavia’s injury, but some parts of the media predict the Belgian international will miss six weeks of action at the least.

Pochettino added, “It’s a sad situation because he was nearly fit to be involved. We don’t know how long he’ll be out for. We need to assess.”

Lavia joins Trevor Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Wesley Fofana, Christopher Nkunku, Marcus Bettinelli, and club captain Reece James currently on the treatment table in West London.