Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca gave an update, of sorts, on injured striker Liam Delap this weekend. While he didn’t provide a true timeline of return for the striker stricken with a shoulder injury, he did make it known that it won’t be for awhile. The Blues boss gave a ballpark figure on Delap:
“We don’t know yet. It can be still, 2,3, 4 weeks… We don’t know exactly how many days he needs.”
League Cup Quarterfinal FYIs
Chelsea FC at Cardiff City
Kickoff: Tue. Dec. 16th, 8pm, Cardiff CIty Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Chelsea Preview Material: Team News Predicted Starting XI
Blues Team News
At least we know that the summer transfer window pickup from Ipswich Town is done for 2025. We won’t see him again early January, and most likely mid-January.
Elsewhere Moises Caicedo is back from suspension, and he is very likely to get a first team assignment here. While typically he would not feature in a match against a lower division side, he need the reps here, in order to stay fresh.
Marc Guiu is ineligible for selection here as he’s cup-tied. Guiu featured for Sunderland, earlier on in this competition, during his loan spell there.
And then finally, the following players remain out as longer-term injury absentees:
Dario Essugo (thigh injury), Romeo Lavia (another thigh injury, again), Mykhaylo Mudryk (suspension due to usage of banned substances) and Levi Colwill (recovering ACL surgery).
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.