Delap to miss up to three months for Chelsea, says Maresca

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·12 September 2025

Delap to miss up to three months for Chelsea, says Maresca

The Chelsea striker, Liam Delap, could be sidelined until December after suffering a thigh injury before the international break, coach Enzo Maresca said on Friday.

Delap was signed from Ipswich for £30 million ($40 million) in June and has played in all three of Chelsea's Premier League matches so far.

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But he was forced to leave early in the 2-0 victory over Fulham on August 30.

“Liam, I think he will undergo a 10 to 12-week treatment, so there is still a long way to go,” Maresca told reporters on Friday.

Attack substitutions

Chelsea called up striker Marc Guiu, on loan to Sunderland, to replace Delap, after Senegalese striker Nicolas Jackson left the Blues to go to Bayern Munich on the last day of the transfer window.

Maresca also has another attacking option: João Pedro, who arrived at Stamford Bridge from Brighton in July.

But the Chelsea coach admitted that Delap's injury left him without attacking options for the West London derby on Saturday at Brentford.

“We have the injury for sure at this moment as a number nine,” he said. “The only one is Guiu. And João (Pedro) can also play there. Against Fulham, we used Tyrique (George) as a nine. So we can also think about him.”

Squad situation

English striker Cole Palmer is close to returning after missing Chelsea's victories over West Ham and Fulham due to a groin injury and could be lined up on Saturday.

But Maresca said there are doubts about the participation of João Pedro, Estevão Willian and Andrey Santos, who returned to England on Thursday after playing in Brazil's 1-0 loss to Bolivia.

Moisés Caicedo returned on Thursday night after Ecuador's victory over Argentina. The match in Brazil took place at more than 4,000 meters of altitude, further complicating recovery time.

“The three Brazilian players arrived yesterday, did not train, only did some recovery sessions,” said Maresca. “Moisés arrived last night. All of them are a question mark for tomorrow.”

Garnacho and recent performance

Maresca said that winger Alejandro Garnacho was “working well” since his arrival from Manchester United, but was still not 100% fit.

Chelsea, which won the UEFA Conference League and the Club World Cup in Maresca's first season, is in second place in the Premier League after three games this season.

Off-field problems

The club was charged by the Football Association (FA) on Thursday with 74 alleged violations of rules related to payments to agents between 2009 and 2022.

The FA said the charges mainly refer to the period between the 2010/11 and 2015/16 seasons, when the Blues were owned by Roman Abramovich.

“I know the club is satisfied with the situation, with the process,” said Maresca. “Personally, I have nothing to add because I have no idea. If I say something, I could be wrong. I just focus on the field aspect, which I can control. To be honest, I don't think the players are too worried about the situation.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.