Chelsea return to action at the King Power Stadium on Saturday afternoon against Leicester City.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca may have to do without his key midfield trio of Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo.

Romeo Lavia limped off in the second-half of Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal before the international break.

Lavia missed almost the entirety of last season due to injuries, and he’s being managed by Enzo Maresca this season.

Lavia joined up with the rest of the Belgium squad for international duty, but missed their UEFA Nations League fixtures against Italy and Israel because of a hamstring issue.

Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco confirmed Lavia’s injury as he said: “Some players had problems immediately after the [last] game, and we already knew in the evening that they would not be available. Then there were injuries today like Romeo Lavia.”

Lavia has become a mainstay in the Chelsea midfield this season, alongside Moises Caicedo.

“It’s a matter of balance. Romeo and Moi give us physicality and strength in the middle,” Enzo Maresca said recently when asked why Lavia is starting ahead of Enzo Fernandez at the moment.

“This is why we found the option of Malo [Gusto] in the pocket.

“Otherwise, when we play with Enzo it has to be with one of Moi or Romeo, and Enzo moves forward we struggle in the middle for physicality. At the moment that’s something Moi and Romeo give us, but it doesn’t mean for one game we can’t play with Joao [Felix] and Cole [Palmer] in the pocket. It depends on the game.”

With Lavia injured, there could well be some problems with the South American duo of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo as well.

Caicedo’s Ecuador take on Colombia at 11pm (UK time) on Tuesday evening, while Fernandez’s Argentina take on Peru an hour later. The Chelsea duo will likely fly back to the UK immediately after their respective matches.

With long flight schedules from South America to the UK, they may not be in the best shape for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off at the King Power.

Worst still, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will have just one session at Chelsea’s training base before Saturday afternoon’s trip to Leicester City.

It’s a tricky situation for Enzo Maresca, and he may be left with no choice than to start Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Renato Veiga is also an option in this position.