Romeo Lavia is still yet to kick a ball for Chelsea other than in training, since his arrival from Southampton in the summer transfer window.
Lavia was a bit of a surprise arrival in the end with the club already looking to spend big on Moises Caicedo to add to another expensive signing from January, Enzo Fernandez.
But even still, it seemed like Chelsea have been tracking Lavia for a long time and really like him, so they went all out to bring him in.
Then he suffered an injury and has been unable to even make a Chelsea squad yet.
However, he is on the road to returning and isn’t too far away now, and we have a timely update on that from journalist Ben Jacobs today, writing in his latest extensive and exclusive Chelsea FC column for SPTC.
Jacobs expects Lavia back in time for the festive fixtures. He says: “Lavia has had an ankle injury since joining Chelsea and his full return is still at least a few weeks off. Although some sources said in October playing by late November might be possible, this may be a slightly optimistic timeframe. I would expect Lavia to be fully fit in time for the festive fixtures. It’s a bit like [Armando] Broja. He may return to training but still needs 2-3 weeks more before he’s really ready to play 90 minutes.”