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Your morning Chelsea digest on Sunday, September 10.
Lavia replacement
Chelsea have been dealt a great blow during the international break as new midfielder Romeo Lavia looks set to be out for a while longer with injury. The 19-year-old was signed from Southampton last month for £58million but hasn't yet made his debut.
Mauricio Pochettino had been hoping he would be ready for a return to the field shortly after the international fixtures but an injury in training has put this in doubt. Early scans on an ankle injury are also looking worrying, reports state.
Luckily for the manager he has plenty of options still to call on. After Lesley Ugochukwu impressed in training and appearances from the bench, Chelsea have a readymade replacement for Lavia. Conor Gallagher staying at the club on deadline day also looks like a key piece of business moving forward.
Read the full story, here.
Sponsor update
Chelsea are close to announcing their new sponsor for the 2023/24 season, reports suggest. The Blues have been playing games this term without a front-of-shirt sponsor after they failed to replace a deal with Three before things got underway.
READ MORE: Chelsea owners Clearlake Capital set for massive sale after $300m reality and huge transfer spend
Now, with the perfect window of opportunity to finalise a deal ahead of the return of Premier League football, the Blues look set to make Infinite Athlete a temporary sponsor. The company, created recently when Tempus Ex Machina acquired Biocore, will be the primary sponsor until next season when Riyadh Air take over.
The Saudi Arabian flight company are yet to have a flight and won't do until 2025 but held talks over a multi-year partnership with Chelsea last week and now look set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Read the full story, here.
Chukwuemeka worry
The injury issues don't get any better for Chelsea as the Evening Standard write that Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka is still set to be out for at least another four weeks.
After going off before half-time following an impact injury against West Ham on the second weekend of the season, Chukwuemeka was ruled out for around six weeks, a timeframe that would have taken him to next weekend.
However, his knee knock appears to be causing him some continued troubles and Pochettino will once more have to plan without a key player available.
Read more, here.
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