It feels like every injury update coming out of Chelsea this season has been bad news, but it’s a rare win for the fitness team and for Liam Delap.
The weekend’s draw against Bournemouth was made even more painful by the sight of Delap going off with a shoulder injury.
Since arriving from Ipswich in the summer, it has been one misfortune after another with the Englishman.
Enzo Maresca said Delap’s injury was quite bad, and rumours of a six to eight week hiatus were circling Stamford Bridge. Thankfully, a new update eases the concerns.
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Liam Delap, Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, Marc Guiu and Tyrique George
Pedro Neto of Chelsea FC (R) celebrates with his teammate Liam Delap (L)
Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
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Liam Delap’s injury not as bad as Chelsea thought
The worry with Delap’s injury — with any shoulder injury — is that it could be dislocated or fractured. He certainly looked in some discomfort as he left the pitch on Saturday.
However, Matt Law of The Telegraph has been speaking with people at the club, and it’s not as bad as they thought.
He writes: “Chelsea have received good news over Delap, with the club hoping the 22-year-old will not be out for longer than four weeks and medical staff working to try to reduce that timeframe even further.”
That’s a lot better than the previous timeframe, that had many questioning if Chelsea had enough to cover.
One name was consistently brought up as a potential replacement, but he will now almost certainly remain across the channel until summer.
Emmanuel Emegha scores for Strasbourg against Crystal Palace
Photo by Frederick FLORIN / AFP via Getty Images
Emanuel Emegha question has been answered with Delap update
When Delap was thought to be out until after January, the obvious option appeared to be recalling Emanuel Emegha from his Strasbourg loan.
The Dutchman is due to arrive in the summer anyway, and there was another reason why an early move made sense.
Emegha was suspended by Strasbourg last week for behavioural problems, with the situation threatening to become uncomfortable for all involved.
But reports suggested Chelsea were more likely to dip into the market, though that made little sense.
Regardless, Delap should be back early in the new year, so another striker isn’t a necessity. It now looks certain that Emegha will finish the season out in France.
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