Chelsea are set to be missing another important player until the new year during an extremely busy period of matches, coming as a blow to Enzo Maresca and his side
15:38, 09 Dec 2025Updated 16:06, 09 Dec 2025
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca
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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca(Image: (Photo by Jan Kruger - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images))
Chelsea are set to be without Liam Delap until 2026, as football.london understands that the striker is set to miss four weeks of action through injury. The forward picked up a shoulder issue in the Blues' draw with Bournemouth over the weekend, coming off after just 30 minutes.
Delap challenged for a ball into the box, and crashed into Cherries defender Marcos Senesi, as the pair landed awkwardly in the aftermath. The striker was in some discomfort, with the medical team turning his shirt into a make-shift sling as he made his way off the pitch.
As a result, Delap is now expected to miss four weeks as part of his recovery, meaning he won't be available again until early January. It's yet another blow for the 22-year-old, who has already faced a stop-start beginning to his carer in west London so far.
Enzo Maresca hinted at the absence recently, when he said: "Liam, as I said at the beginning, fortunately he's not got any fracture. That is good news for us. Now for how long he will be out, not sure to be honest."
On the possibility of replacing him with others in the squad, the Chelsea coach added: "And then in terms of Raheem, once again it's the same thing I said about Axel [Disasi], they are Chelsea players. Now also we are in December, January is coming, so anything can happen. We'll see.”
Delap made the move to Stamford Bridge in the summer, joining from relegated Ipswich Town for a fee worth roughly £30m. Despite the Tractor Boys suffering relegation, the striker was a standout option for the side, showing a real physical present up top to help drag them through some games.
Liam Delap is treated for a shoulder injury during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Chelsea.
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Liam Delap is treated for a shoulder injury during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Chelsea.(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
With plenty of potential for the future, Chelsea snapped him up before their rivals could, as they looked to develop him for the years to come. While there was hope that he could hit the ground running this season, that hasn't quite been the case so far.
A major hamstring injury kept Delap out for a few months, with the likes of Joao Pedro, Marc Guiu and Pedro Neto taking up the centre-forward role in his absence. A return to action came as an opportunity to kickstart his career for the Blues, but it was halted a little more.
Delap picked up a red card in Chelsea's Carabao Cup clash with Wolves, which led to Maresca slamming the striker for the recklessness of his two challenges that resulted in bookings. In the time since, there have been more opportunities, including a first goal for the club in the Champions League against Barcelona.
However, he now faces roughly one month out of action as he recovers from a shoulder injury, leaving him out of some important games at a busy time of the season. There could be at least eight games where the striker is missing, across the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.
Liam Delap of Chelsea leaves the pitch grimacing in pain during the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Chelsea at Vitality Stadium on December 06, 2025 in Bournemouth, England
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Injuries have plagued the start of Delap's Chelsea career(Image: 2025 Chelsea FC)
It leaves Maresca scratching his head of which options he may call upon over the next few weeks to stay competitive at the top end of the pitch. Joao Pedro seems to be the most obvious option, though he doesn't offer the same type profile to the team, and can operate more as a number ten.
Guiu may fit as a central striker in a more natural way, though his lack of minutes may make him one of the latter options that the manager calls upon. There have been other experiments with the team, such as Neto up top, which have worked, but it remains to be seen if Maresca would prefer to keep him out wide.
For now, though, it's a setback for Delap that comes as another blow to the first half of his debut season at Chelsea.
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Potential games Liam Delap could miss
Atalanta (A) - December 9 - Champions League
Everton (H) - December 13 - Premier League
Cardiff (A) - December 16 - Carabao Cup
Newcastle (A) - December 20 - Premier League
Aston Villa (H) - December 27 - Premier League
Bournemouth (H) - December 30 - Premier League
Man City (A) - January 4 - Premier League
Fulham (A) - January 7 - Premier League