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Chelsea's Lavia out to 'change narrative' after injuries

Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia is aiming to turn the page on his fitness struggles as he targets his longest run in the team yet. The 22-year-old Belgian will eclipse his personal benchmark of 518 consecutive minutes without a physical setback if he plays at least an hour in Friday's clash with Brentford.

After playing just once in his debut Chelsea campaign due to a severe hamstring problem, Lavia sat out 42 fixtures, followed by 33 absences the year after, before managing to feature in roughly half of the club's fixtures last season. He has maintained full fitness through the recent pre-season and into the start of the current term, aided by manager Xabi Alonso challenging him to clear a mental hurdle by seeing out the full 90 minutes during an August friendly against AC Milan.

Following the example of teammates Reece James and Wesley Fofana in fighting back from prolonged physical issues, Lavia has cemented his spot in Alonso's midfield alongside James, the converted right-back who now captains the side. The young midfielder's role has taken on even greater significance following Enzo Fernandez's £125m deadline-day departure to , coupled with Moises Caicedo managing only 14 minutes on the pitch so far this campaign.