Maresca gives worrying Delap injury update after fresh blow for Chelsea star

Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Bournemouth on Saturday but there was another issue for Blues boss Enzo Maresca to contend with after Liam Delap was taken off with another injury

Enzo Maresca believes Liam Delap has picked up another ‘bad injury’ as his Chelsea nightmare continues. The Blues striker was taken off just half an hour into Saturday’s draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

He appeared to sustain a dislocated shoulder and was eventually replaced by Marc Guiu. Speaking after the game, Maresca believes the issue could sideline Delap for an extended period.

Speaking in his post-match press conference, he said: “Yeah, unfortunately he was already out two months and he has to be out again. We don't know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder.

“Yeah, he has been unlucky. He was out two months already, now he has to be out again. Also, we are a bit unlucky because we need that kind of a No.9. We tried today with Marc [Guiu].”

Delap’s shoulder problem is the latest issue that the forward has had to contend with since his £30m move from Ipswich Town. The 22-year-old has already missed a large chunk of the campaign with a hamstring injury, while he was also sent off in a Carabao Cup clash with Wolves back in October.

He also has only one goal to his name so far - that coming in a 3-0 win against Barcelona in the Champions League last month. His injury now leaves Joao Pedro and Guiu as Chelsea’s only central attacking options under Maresca.

Delap’s potential absence gives the Italian a headache ahead of Tuesday evening’s clash with Atalanta, while they welcome Everton to Stamford Bridge next weekend. Ahead of that game, the Blues sit fourth in the Premier League following Saturday’s stalemate vs Bournemouth.

Asked what went wrong for his side vs the Cherries, Maresca replied: “I think it was a game where we lacked, we missed a little bit of quality in the last third. For me, many mistakes.

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“We missed some passes in the last third, some moments that we could shoot and avoid that, cross. But yeah, overall, when you are not able to win, we said many times that it's important that we don't lose.”

He added: “I think a lack of quality in the last third for me, personally, in terms of last pass, you know, some cross, some moment. We know that we are not going to score every game. I didn't know, to be honest, that was from [Crystal] Palace [game in August]. Now we're going to try to score on Tuesday, but it's important at least to keep the clean sheet that gives us at least the chance to take points."