Chelsea have confirmed that a second of their stars will miss their upcoming fixture against Manchester United as Enzo Maresca issues the latest on Cole Palmer.
Manchester United’s upcoming Premier League schedule looks far from forgiving, with Rúben Amorim’s side set for a stern examination as domestic football resumes after the international break.
After taking just four points from a possible nine in their opening three league outings, United restart with a trip to the Etihad to face Manchester City.
Six days later, they return to Old Trafford for a clash with Chelsea, before heading south to London to meet Bryan Mbeumo’s former club, Brentford.
They close out the next month by hosting Sunderland, before October’s international break gives way to a daunting trip to Anfield to take on current title favourites Liverpool.
Chelsea confirm Delap injury blow
At the beginning of the summer, it was clear United wanted a striker, and Liam Delap was top of their list. However, the English forward instead chose to sign with Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea, despite the director of football, Jason Wilcox, pushing hard to secure the 22-year-old.
Delap started life quickly with Chelsea, competing as part of their Club World Cup squad and helping them win the tournament, but against Fulham, he suffered an injury.
On Friday morning, Maresca confirmed that the striker is set to be sidelined for up to three months, missing the United clash. “Liam is out for 10-12 weeks. [There is] a long way to go,” the Italian said.
After Wilcox pushed for Delap but failed, and instead chose to sign Benjamin Šeško, it would have been a nightmare if the former had run riot at Old Trafford. However, with the striker out until December, this will no longer be a worry.
Delap’s injury confirmation comes just days after Chelsea confirmed that 20-year-old midfielder Dario Essugo had suffered an injury while with Portugal’s U21s and had undergone successful surgery on his thigh.
Palmer may be fit to face United next week
The big news United will be keeping an eye on is whether star forward Cole Palmer will be fit for Chelsea to face United next Saturday afternoon.
Palmer played the Blues’ first game of the Premier League season, but withdrew just before their tie against West Ham, and was not included in the squad for their third game, a 2-0 win over Fulham.
Read More: Benjamin Šeško sends Rúben Amorim clear message ahead of Manchester derby as “strange” Man Utd XI verdict given
Speaking further, Maresca confirmed that while Palmer is not certain to be part of their squad to face Brentford this weekend, his comments suggest that he may be able to face United the following weekend.
“Cole took part in the session yesterday for the first time, not the entire session,” Maresca detailed. “We have one more session this afternoon, and we are going to try with him to see if he’s okay; otherwise, he will be out tomorrow.
“He is recovering from an injury, it’s not managing him, it’s recovering from an injury. When he is available, we need to manage him because of the amount of games.”
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