When Liam Delap went down with an injury against Fulham, it was a major blow for Chelsea. Especially as they had recently sanctioned Nicolas Jackson's move to Bayern Munich. The Senegalese striker was called back in the aftermath only for the move to be allowed to go through on renegotiated terms, although considering the rumours doing the rounds, it is pretty hard to expect the obligation to buy clause to be triggered.
That makes Chelsea's decision even more confusing. They allowed Jackson to leave and brought back Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland. But is the Spaniard ready to contribute meaningful minutes to Enzo Maresca's side?
On the other hand, Chelsea fans' fears have come true. As it turns out, the injury suffered by Delap is worse than initially expected.
After the game, Maresca had said that he expected Delap to be out for six to eight weeks. Now, we have a timeline on when the striker could return. And it is worse than the initial prediction.
Liam Delap's injury confirmed worse than Chelsea had thought
As reported by The Athletic, Delap is expected to begin training again in November. While no surgery is required, the striker's lay-off is estimated at approximately 10 weeks from the time of the injury.
Until then, Maresca will have to rely on Joao Pedro and Guiu as his two options at striker. The situation is far from ideal and one can only hope that there are no further injuries to deal with.
Chelsea have had some terrible luck with injuries at the start of the season. Levi Colwill might be out for the entire season. Cole Palmer remains on the sidelines. Delap's issue is worse than though. And as confirmed recently, Dario Essugo has had to undergo surgery for an injury he picked up on international duty.