'We feel very ashamed' - Maresca on Belgian-Ghanaian Romeo Lavia's fresh injury

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has expressed his frustration as Romeo Lavia suffers another injury just hours after being promised careful management.

The 21-year-old Belgian midfielder, who also has Ghanaian heritage, made only his fourth start of the season and lasted five minutes in Wednesday’s 2-2 Champions League draw with Qarabag.

Maresca had emphasised Lavia’s need for protection just 24 hours earlier, highlighting the midfielder’s slow reintegration since his £58 million move from Southampton in 2023.

“The main target for Romeo now is to be fit. Don’t get any injuries,” Maresca said on Tuesday.

“For me, at this moment, Romeo is where Reece (James) was one year ago — coming back after a long period out.

"We need to manage him every minute, every day, every second. The target is to keep him fit and help him enjoy football again.”

Following Lavia’s early exit, the Italian coach admitted his disappointment.

“We feel very ashamed, especially for him, because he’s not able to be fit for a long, long period,” Maresca said.

“It’s not a recurrence of his hamstring problem; it looks like a quad injury. We’ll need to assess him further, but it doesn’t look good.”

Lavia’s injury record has been a persistent concern. He made only one appearance during his debut season due to ankle and hamstring issues and was excluded from Chelsea’s Conference League-winning squad.

This season has already seen him miss multiple matches, leaving his place under Maresca in serious jeopardy.

The latest setback compounds doubts over the midfielder’s ability to establish himself at Stamford Bridge.