Chelsea star Romeo Lavia has been ruled out for the rest of the season after another setback in his recovery from injury.
It continues a disastrous campaign for the Belgium international, who joined Chelsea last summer from Southampton for £58million but has managed just 30 minutes of football in his debut campaign.
In a statement on social media, the Blues wrote: “Midfielder Romeo Lavia is to unfortunately miss the remainder of our 2023-24 campaign following a setback in his recovery.
“Recent medical assessments have confirmed that Lavia, who sustained a significant thigh injury against Crystal Palace back in December, will not feature again this season.”
Chelsea beat Liverpool in a bidding war for his services in a well-documented transfer battle that also saw Moises Caicedo choose Stamford Bridge over Anfield.
But the 20-year-old was forced to miss the first four months of the season through an ankle injury before making his long-awaited debut against Crystal Palace in December.
He came on for the final 30 minutes but after the match, Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that he had suffered another injury, this time to his thigh.
While no timeframe was initially given on Lavia’s return, it was hoped that the injury would last a month.
However, after little progress had been made on his recovery, Chelsea have now announced the ex-Manchester City trainee will miss the rest of the season.
The announcement has come nearly three months after his injury against Crystal Palace, his only appearance for the London outfit since moving in the summer.
Lavia is just one of many players signed by Chelsea that have suffered massive injury problems.
Christopher Nkunku joined last summer but has just twice in the Premier League since signing from RB Leipzig for £52m.
Chelsea broke the bank in 2022, joining for £72m, but has managed just 15 appearances in the Premier League over two seasons after two ACL injuries.
Other arrivals to spend significant spells on the sidelines include Benoit Badiashile, Carney Chukwuemeka and Lesley Ugochukwu while key players Reece James and Ben Chilwell have also suffered long-term injuries.
The Blues have had a difficult campaign under Pochettino in his first season in charge of the club.
They find themselves 11th in the table with 11 games to go while they also missed out on silverware after losing to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.