Chelsea may have dropped a huge hint that Romeo Lavia is in contention to feature in today's Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest.

Lavia, 20, has had his Stamford Bridge career plagued by injuries after joining the club for PS58million from Southampton in 2023. After playing just four times under Mauricio Pochettino last season, Lavia has only played twice this term.

He started Enzo Maresca's first game in charge against Manchester City in August but suffered another injury setback with a hamstring problem. He returned to action in last week's 4-2 win over Brighton, playing 11 minutes off the bench.

Lavia was left out of Chelsea's Conference League squad, meaning he has had a full week of recovery ahead of today's game. On Sunday morning, the official Chelsea X account posted a matchday graphic that included an image of Lavia.

An involvement in the pre-match graphic often hints that those players will be involved to some degree, with Lavia certainly in line for more minutes. Maresca has used Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez as his midfield pivot recently, but Lavia's return could see a change.

The midfielder's return does mean that the Blues boss will have an unwanted headache to deal with today. The current squad consists of more players allowed to be named on matchday (20), meaning certain individuals could be left out.

Lavia hasn't been named in Belgium's squad for the upcoming international break, meaning he will spend time on the training ground at Cobham ahead of a busy October and November.

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