Chelsea injury update: Liam Delap, Cole Palmer and Alejandro Garnacho latest news and return dates | OneFootball

Blues are dealing with significant injury problems coming out of the first international break of the season

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Chelsea have suffered a fresh injury blow just days before resuming their Premier League campaign.

That made it back-to-back wins for the Blues following a goalless draw at home to Crystal Palace across the opening weekend of the new season and the 5-1 thumping of West Ham.

Next up is another London derby as Enzo Maresca’s side face Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday night. However, the Italian tactician has been handed some bad news on the injury front ahead of the short trip across town.

Dario Essugo

Dario Essugo has had surgery on a thigh injury he suffered on Portugal Under-21s duty.

The £18.5million summer signing felt a “muscle problem in his right thigh” during training, the Portuguese Football Federations revealed.

Essugo, who joined Chelsea from Sporting in June, faces an unspecified period of time out.

On Tuesday, Chelsea released a statement that read: “Midfielder Dario Essugo has undergone successful surgery today on his thigh.

“The 20-year-old sustained the injury whilst on international duty for Portugal's Under-21s.

“Medical assessments confirmed surgery would be the required course of action and Dario will now begin his recovery at Cobham, supported by the club's medical department.”

Potential return date: Unknown

Liam Delap

Chelsea’s £30million summer signing pulled up while trying to chase down an early long ball against Fulham, immediately grabbing his right hamstring and receiving medical attention.

He was forced off just 15 minutes into the game and Maresca said afterwards that it was the sort of injury that usually meant six to eight weeks on the sidelines.

The injury came on the same day that Chelsea confirmed Christopher Nkunku’s permanent move to AC Milan, which in turn placed Nicolas Jackson’s loan switch to Bayern Munich in danger of being called off.

Blow: Liam Delap

Adam Davy/PA Wire

It has since been reported that Chelsea fear Delap could be out for longer than feared as he prepares to undergo a scan, making it very difficult indeed to predict an accurate return date at this stage.

Potential return date: Unknown

Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer withdrew from the Chelsea starting XI against West Ham before kick-off after suffering a groin injury in the warm-up. Maresca later revealed that the attacking midfielder played through the issue on opening day against Crystal Palace.

He was ruled out of the win over Fulham and omitted from Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad for 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia, with Maresca describing his status as “day by day”.

It remains to be seen exactly when Palmer will be ready to return, but fans will be hoping he’s fit quickly after the international break.

Potential return date: September

Alejandro Garnacho

Alejandro Garnacho was sat in the stands for the win over Fulham with his move from Manchester United officially being announced a few hours later.

The winger has trained with his new Chelsea team-mates - well those not called up for international duty - but having not played a single minute of pre-season with Man Utd, he is short of match sharpness.

As a result, Garnacho should be available to make his Blues debut against Brentford but it’s more than likely he will be named among the substitutes as he is probably not ready to start and play 90 minutes just yet.

Potential return date: September 13, 2025 vs Brentford (A)

Romeo Lavia

The Belgian midfielder has not played for Chelsea since their Club World Cup last-16 win over Benfica in late June, having been struggling with an unspecified muscle issue ever since.

Maresca said before the win over Fulham that he hoped Lavia would be closer to returning following the international break, but would not be ready for action straightaway.

Chelsea will be desperately hoping that the former Southampton star can finally prove his fitness after an injury-plagued spell at Stamford Bridge so far.

Potential return date: September/October

Benoit Badiashile

Badiashile is a very similar case to Lavia, having not played since picking up a similarly unspecified injury in that same game against Benfica.

He was said to be working his way towards a return in September, with Chelsea’s defensive ranks already impacted by Colwill’s anterior cruciate ligament injury that will see the latter miss most of the season.

And like Lavia, Maresca hopes Badiashile will be closer to returning after the international break, but doesn’t expect him back straightaway.