EXCLUSIVE: Date given for Chelsea’s injured star to return to Blues squad after “positive” updates | OneFootball

Our writer Simon Phillips has just put up an exclusive update on his Substack which claims that Liam Delap’s recovery is “going well” and that we should expect to see him back on the grass by the end of this month.

“The next step in his recovery is coming a bit quicker than first expected,” Phillips concludes, saying that we should see him back in a Chelsea squad before the end of the season.

Setbacks are always possible, but it’s so far so good for the former Ipswich man, who hurt his hamstring in just the 14th minute of the third game of the season when we faced Fulham.

Knock on effects of injury hurt Chelsea season so far

Liam Delap enters for Joao Pedro. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Delap’s injury wasn’t just frustrating for the striker, who had all his momentum going into the season taken away, it was also a disaster for Chelsea and their squad.

It’s meant that Joao Pedro has had to play as a number 9 rather than a little deeper, and has also meant the Brazilian has had to play a lot of minutes without the option of a break.

It also led to the recall of Marc Guiu from Sunderland, robbing him of the chance to play a lot more.

The sooner we have Delap back, the better for everyone. We just have to make it through another 6 weeks or so…

In other news…

Chelsea continue to be linked with replacements for Robert Sanchez, who still has yet to convince the majority of fans and pundits as we enter his third year at Chelsea. A replacement is already being linked.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph has the scoop on what’s going on with Moises Caicedo and his contract after the midfielder put out a strange Instagram message yesterday.