Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has revealed that Liam Delap immediately apologised for his red card against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 4-3 Carabao Cup win at Molineux on Wednesday.
The Blues' striker came off the bench for his first appearance since August due to a hamstring injury, but lasted just 25 minutes after being needlessly sent off for two yellow cards. It means he will miss the Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
After the game, Maresca called the sending off "stupid" and "embarrassing" despite Chelsea still progressing to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, and said he had told Delap to "keep calm" several times after his first yellow card. Ahead of the capital club's trip to their London rivals, the Italian tactician is now trying to put the incident behind him.
"Straight after the game, Liam apologised to everyone," said Maresca. "I don't need to speak [any further] to Liam. I already spoke with him. He's aware of the situation. He knows that he made a mistake. Full stop, no more than that."
Delap's red card was Chelsea's sixth since September, including one for Maresca, who was sent off for running down the touchline to celebrate Estevao Willian's late winner against Liverpool before the October international break. Maresca has previously denied Chelsea have a discipline problem, but admits the flurry of dismissals in recent weeks have proven a learning curve.
"I like to learn and evolve," he said. "In this moment, we are trying to do everything to avoid these situations [red cards]. Hopefully we can learn and be better in the future."
Palmer Due to Return to Action for Blues in December
cole palmer chelsea
Maresca has also confirmed that Cole Palmer will not be rushed back from a persistent groin issue and his likely return date remains December.
Palmer has not featured since being subbed off after 20 minutes in the west Londoners' 2-1 loss at Manchester United in September.
Maresca said earlier this month that the England midfielder will be out for around six weeks, and that his initial timeline of a November return was too optimistic.
"I was wrong," he said on October 17 during a press conference. "Unfortunately, Cole needs to be out probably six more weeks. This is the update. The most important thing is when he comes back, he is fully fit. The medical staff are not magicians. We hope six weeks are enough. We need to see it step-by-step. For sure, he's going to be OK."
Maresca confirmed on Friday, ahead of the Tottenham game, that the timeline for Palmer's return to action has not altered since those comments despite wishing he was back sooner.
"I just met him in the canteen for breakfast," he added. "I said to him, 'In one week, you will be back!' and he was laughing. For Cole, it's exactly the same plan, we will wait."
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