Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was presented with a selection headache before the Conference League final as Romeo Lavia is ineligible.
The Belgian travelled to Wroclaw with the Blues squad and was also pictured in pre-match training sessions at the Stadion Miejski.
The central midfielder has persistently struggled with injuries since his arrival at Stamford Bridge from Southampton in August 2023.
He has made just 18 appearances across all competitions this season, 12 of which have been starts, and has missed 17 league fixtures.
Lavia has since built up his fitness, as he played a part in Chelsea’s final five Premier League matches of the season.
However, he won’t play a single minute of the Conference League final, live on talkSPORT, tonight – here’s why…
Why Lavia is not playing for Chelsea
The 21-year-old was not named in the List A squad Chelsea submitted to UEFA for the tournament, and no alterations can be made to it.
Per UEFA Rules, clubs are ‘entitled to register an unlimited number of players’ to List B during the season.
The list must be submitted no later than 11pm GMT on the day before a match.
But in a brutal twist for Lavia, he does not meet all the criteria required to be named on List B.
UEFA rules state a player can be registered on List B if they are born after January 1 in 2003, a requirement Lavia meets given he was born on January 6 in 2004.
However, the Belgian falls short of the other rule.
Lavia will be supporting his teammates from the standsGettyAccording to UEFA, players must have been “eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years, or a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period”.
Lavia has not been at Chelsea long enough, having joined in August 2023.
Additionally, he didn’t spend the required time at former clubs Manchester City and Southampton, even though they are in the same association as Chelsea.
It means Maresca will have to plan without the talented Belgian for Wednesday’s final against Real Betis in Wroclaw, Poland.
The Italian may have showed his hand as to how he will shape his midfield during Chelsea’s final league fixture.
In the 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest, which secured the Blues a return to the Champions League, Maresca started with Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez as the two pivots, while superstar Cole Palmer was the attacking midfielder.
Chelsea won’t be able to plan with Lavia for the Conference League finalGetty Maresca has the best kind of headache possible going into Wednesday’s finalGettyLavia did make an appearance during the contest in the form of a 28-minute cameo off the bench in place of Jadon Sancho as Maresca looked to shore up his side to see out the contest following Levi Colwill’s goal in the 50th minute.
He has also played no part in Chelsea’s Conference League campaign since a seven-minute stint against Swiss side Servette in the qualifying play-off first leg in August, a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Lavia has struggled to find his footing since arriving at Stamford Bridge in August 2023 for an initial £58million.
He saw only 32 minutes of action in his debut campaign as he struggled to overcome ankle and hamstring injuries.
Lavia has logged only 885 minutes of action since he joined Chelsea in August 2023GettyHowever, he has shown glimpses of why he was the subject of a bidding war between Chelsea and Liverpool in the 2023 summer window with impressive displays for the Blues in their run-in this season.
But he’ll have to watch Maresca’s side attempt to make history on Wednesday from the stands.
Should Chelsea overcome Betis, they would become the first team to win every one of UEFA’s major cup competitions, having already triumphed in the Champions League, Europa League and the Super Cup.
talkSPORT will have live coverage of the action in Wroclaw, and you can listen to it all unfold here.
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