Belgium boss Mark van Bommel revealed Romeo Lavia is not in the starting XI for the Nations League match against Turkey, after he had been eased into the side following injury.
The Chelsea midfielder played 85 minutes in Belgium’s 1-0 defeat by France on Monday before being replaced, apparently due to cramp.
Due to Lavia’s muscular ailments and the fact that there was only four days between games, Van Bommel did not want to take any unnecessary risks with the 22-year-old.
”Romeo came off the bench against Italy and played 85 minutes against France. And he was brilliant,” Van Bommel said.
“Obviously I’m not going to give him to you today, if you hadn’t worked that one out already. Chelsea are taking a cautious approach to him and so are we. We’re looking to get the best out of him.”
Lavia also showed well against France, even though the Belgians lost, and afterwards he said that he was very tired due to the physical game.
“It had been a while since I played that hard.” It’s a process,” he said.
“I was very comfortable from the outset, it is such a fun game to play. Everything is coming naturally.”
Lavia has made four of Chelsea’s five Premier League games so far this season, but his time with the club will now be managed carefully until he has returned to club duty.
