Enzo Maresca has delivered a positive injury update on Chelsea striker Liam Delap ahead of their Champions League clash against Ajax.
The Blues bounced back strongly after their 3-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion in late September and have picked up three wins in a row in all competitions.
After claiming back-to-back victories against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, the London giants will be aiming to pick up their second win in the Champions League after they defeated Benfica 1-0 in their previous match.
Delap will not take any part in this game on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge, but Maresca has suggested that the 22-year-old will soon return to first-team training.
Maresca gives positive injury update on Chelsea's Delap
Chelsea's Liam Delap holds his hamstring after sustaining an injury on August 30, 2025
The striker moved to Chelsea in the summer transfer from Ipswich Town, and picked up a serious hamstring injury in their third game of the season.
Initially, Maresca ruled him out for 12 weeks, until December, and while that could still be the case, it seems Delap could return to training as early as this month.
"Liam is very close, he is not working with us yet, he is still out, but hopefully he can start in the next days, take part in the session with us," said Maresca, as quoted by football.london.
Delap's injury triggered a late summer window panic in the Chelsea camp, as they failed to block Nicolas Jackson's loan move to Bayern Munich on deadline day.
Chelsea recalled Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland and decided against allowing Tyrique George to join Fulham, despite negotiating a move to sell him permanently.
Chelsea injury crisis ahead of Ajax clash
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring on August 30, 2025
Ahead of the match, Maresca has confirmed the Blues will decide whether Enzo Fernandez can feature against Ajax, after the Argentine missed Saturday's win over Forest at City Ground due to a knee problem.
The injury crisis is a huge concern for Maresca as Chelsea are already without Benoit Badiashile, Cole Palmer, Dario Essugo, Levi Colwill and Delap for the game.
The Blues will also be without Joao Pedro for this game, as he is suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the win against Benfica.
ID:584047:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3862: