Chelsea sit in a decent place this international break, second place in the table, behind only league leading Liverpool. They do have a fair amount of injury concerns though, and we’ll see who among the likes of Liam Delap, Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer and Romeo Lavia, could return against Brentford on Sept. 13. Yes, the next match for the Blues is, once again a London derby. The first four matches of the season are/were all London derbies.
So without further ado, let’s assess the injury and fitness situation for southwest London side.
Liam Delap
The summer transfer window addition from the Tractor Boys (Ipswich Town) suffered a significant hamstring injury, and he’ll be sidelined for awhile.
Said Enzo Maresca on Saturday: “Liam’s injury doesn’t look good. It was full speed, hamstring, so that requires weeks.”
Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia
We grouped these two players together, because both have unspecified/undisclosed issues, and therefore, we can’t really say what’s going on with them. The conventional wisdom seems to be that they might be in contention for the next match, but who knows.
“Romeo and Benoit, I don’t think they will be back after the international break, but they will be closer,” Maresca said.
Cole Palmer
Palmer has a hip/groin/pelvic area issue, but it’s not thought to be serious. He should be able to return in the next game.
“Cole, we need to see day by day,” Maresca said.
Finally, Ukrainian winger Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended indefinitely while youngster Omari Kellyman remains out, for the long haul, with a serious hamstring injury.
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. 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, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter