VR headsets, not rushing back: How Lavia set himself up for return this season (2024)

It was a pass that showed how Romeo Lavia’s work with a virtual reality headset for many months is paying off.

Chelsea were trailing 4-1 to Manchester City in a pre-season friendly on Saturday night when Lesley Ugochukwu laid the ball off to him 30 yards away from his own goal. Under pressure from a rapidly closing Jacob Wright, Lavia took one touch before delivering a perfect 50-yard through ball with his right foot for Noni Madueke to run onto and score.

This is the quality one expects from a player who has played regularly and is at the top of their game. But it was Lavia’s first 90-minute appearance since playing for Southampton at home against Fulham in May 2023.

It has taken a lot of hard graft for Lavia to get to this point. When Chelsea beat Liverpool to sign him for an initial £53million ($67.5m) last summer, the midfielder was working towards full match fitness, having sustained a minor problem at the end of the previous campaign at Southampton. Just as Lavia was getting close to making a Chelsea debut, he sustained an ankle injury in training that kept him out for another three months.

Chelsea fans finally got to see Lavia in action when he came on as a substitute against Crystal Palace on December 27, only for him to suffer a serious thigh injury to the other leg. It meant his first season as a Chelsea player amounted to just 32 minutes on the pitch.

There has been a lot of physical training over many, many weeks to get back into shape. Lavia could have returned to action before the end of last season but the club and player made a joint decision not to take any risks for the sake of a couple of appearances.

When Chelsea announced in March that the 20-year-old would not feature again that season, it was assumed he had suffered another major setback. In truth, the statement was released to take the pressure off Lavia’s shoulders. Fielding constant questions asking, ‘When will you be back?’ — whether they were from fans on social media, strangers he bumped into and even people he knew on his phone — was mentally draining. By going public, the queries stopped, leaving the need to return to his best for 2024-25 as his only focus.

According to sources close to the player, who, like all those spoken to for this article, have been kept anonymous to protect relationships, Lavia took part in exhausting exercises to get sharp. He also had a club employee go away with him on ‘holiday’ to maintain the fitness programme — but this is not all he has done.

To ensure he was prepared for the speed of the game from the get-go, Lavia has regularly worn a VR headset to help recreate moments he is expected to face on the pitch. He has used the device to get ready for scanning where team-mates and opponents are on the field and know what his next move will be. Madueke was the beneficiary of all this homework at the weekend.

Going through the turmoil of an injury-plagued season after a big-money move could have been mentally damaging, especially after being the subject of a transfer saga involving two of the biggest clubs in the Premier League. Sympathy from Liverpool fans was certainly in short supply after turning a move to Anfield down. Sources close to Lavia say he has tried to look at his misfortune positively. He has told close friends how if he ends up being at Stamford Bridge for 10 years and this is his one year on the treatment table, he still has 90 per cent of his Chelsea career left to make a massive impact.

In his mind, last season’s disappointment is just a small fraction of what could be a very successful period.

Some players understandably feel sorry for themselves when forced to train away from the main group, becoming even more isolated. Not Lavia. He immersed himself in the club, so much so that he attended under-21 games at Kingsmeadow to support the players coming through.

Lavia’s willingness to get involved has impressed Chelsea staff and he has been asked to speak to academy players, a task taken on willingly, to give insight on his experiences coming through the ranks at Manchester City and Southampton.

It is very early days and the short-term aim is to make sure Lavia establishes himself as a first-team player but, such is his personality, Chelsea have earmarked him for a possible leadership role in the future, whether that be as captain or vice-captain, or just trusted with certain responsibilities as one of the squad’s main characters. That could be some way off but it indicates how Lavia has made an impression without even doing anything on the pitch.

Lavia has already played under head coach Enzo Maresca for City’s under-21s and there is confidence he can be a huge asset this season. The style of play suits him. As he has shown on the tour of the U.S., Lavia can link the play, execute quick one-two touches and react to the speed of transition. Along with Christopher Nkunku, he has been the main success story of pre-season.

The Belgium international was one of only three players to start all five matches on Chelsea’s U.S. tour but if a slight reality check was needed, the final game provided it. On Tuesday night, the speed of movement of the Real Madrid players would have clarified for Lavia just what level he needs to reach.

Even so, Maresca has been pleased. “It is a shame for Romeo that he has been out for a long time, but I know him very well from working together (at City) for one season. I know how good Romeo is.”

Lavia promised supporters that “the wait will be worth it” when posting on X in March about the news his first season at Chelsea was over. He is beginning to show why their patience could be rewarded.

(Top photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Simon Johnson has spent the majority of his career as a sports reporter since 2000 covering Chelsea, firstly for Hayters and then the London Evening Standard. This included going to every game home and away as the west London club secured the Champions League in 2012. He has also reported on the England national team between 2008-19 and been a regular contributor to talkSPORT radio station for over a decade. Follow Simon on Twitter @SJohnsonSport