Ornstein drops bad injury update on Chelsea striker which we were all afraid of | OneFootball

We were just about to moan that there wasn’t much to write about on a sleepy international break Tuesday…

Well we take it all back. In the space of a couple of minutes there’s been a double bombshell on the injury front.

Delap’s serious hamstring issue confirmed by Ornstein

David Ornstein’s Tweet about Liam Delap.

Fabrizio Romano had just reported that midfielder Dario Essugo needed surgery on an thigh issue picked up on international duty. Then David Ornstein swooped in with the killer second blow.

Liam Delap’s hamstring injury picked up in the game against Fulham won’t require surgery – but will keep him out until November, a ten week absence at least. Ornstein only says that Delap is “expected to start training again in November” – that makes it sound more like he will not be ready for full starts until some time after that.

Chelsea’s squad already stretched by injury woes

If we’re realistic, we were very pessimistic about Delap’s issue from the start. As Enzo Maresca pointed out it was a hamstring twang that came as he was in full sprint – those tend to be the worst.

But the fact that we saw the bad news coming doesn’t make it any less bad.

The only positive was that the injury occurred with enough time left in the window that Marc Guiu could be recalled. It’s also good that he’s not getting surgery – but it seems like it’s about as bad as it gets without surgery being needed.

We wonder how our season will be looking come November? There is a huge amount on Joao Pedro’s shoulders now. With the Champions League about to start up, our squad is already getting stretched across the board. Guiu can expect significant minutes in the next few months, and Tyrique George may be needed too.