Chelsea have a new injury concern ahead of their Tuesday night trip to Atalanta, striker Liam Delap. The youngster suffered a shoulder injury, which is suspected to be a dislocation, in the goalless draw at Bournemouth yesterday.
“Unfortunately he was already out for two months and he has to be out again,” Blues boss Enzo Maresca said of Delap. “We don’t know for how long, but it looks quite bad, his shoulder.”
UCL Matchday 6 FYIs
Atalanta vs Chelsea FC
Kickoff: 8pm BST, Tue Dec 9, Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy
Chelsea Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UCL Standings: Atalanta 10th 10 pts Chelsea FC 7th 10 pts
UCL Form: Atalanta LWDWW Chelsea FC LWWDW
Blues Team News
Delap, who came over from Ipswich Town this summer, will be sidelined for a few/several weeks, at minimum. It’s a rough setback because he already missed significant time this season with a hamstring pull; which he suffered in August against Fulham. Delap also missed time this season due to a red card, which came on a very questionable decision that Maresca publicly called him out for.
Elsewhere this past weekend also saw Maresca provide an update, of sorts, on the very oft-injured Romeo Lavia, and his latest setback. “It’s a muscle problem,” Maresca said of the hamstring/thigh injury.
“We don’t know yet when he can be back. We don’t know [if it will be long or short-term].” Ok, so that didn’t say much, but at least we know he’s out for Tuesday. It’s also likely that Lavia is out until the new year.
Other than that, the Chelsea injury/fitness/availability situation remains the same.
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.