Fofana, Palmer & Delap: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates before Everton matchplaceholder image
Fofana, Palmer & Delap: Latest Chelsea injury news and expected return dates before Everton match | Getty Images
The latest Chelsea injury news and return dates ahead of their Premier League encounter with Everton.
Chelsea will be going in search of their first win in five games on Saturday when they take on Everton in the Premier League – but will head into the game against David Moyes’ on-song side with some fresh injury concerns hanging over their heads.
Enzo Maresca will be waiting on news of defender Wesley Fofana’s fitness after he was forced off with a new injury during the 2-1 midweek defeat to Atalanta, a game which Cole Palmer also missed just days after making his comeback from a groin injury.
Chelsea could be without as many as seven first-team players for the match against Everton, so we’ve collected all of the latest injury news below along with the absent players’ expected return dates when available.
Will Wesley Fofana & Cole Palmer be fit to face Everton?
The biggest new injury problem Chelsea face concerns Wesley Fofana, who came on as a half-time substitute in Bergamo only to be forced off 30 minutes later with an injury, with Tosin Adarabioyo coming off the bench to replace him.
“Wes has a problem in his eye”, Maresca told the media after the match. “In this moment, it is quite bad - he struggles to see a little bit. But hopefully, he can be OK and available for Saturday.”
That leaves the oft-injured Frenchman as a doubt for the Everton game, but there are no new concerns over the fitness of Cole Palmer despite his absence from the squad on Tuesday evening – Maresca confirmed that Palmer, who started his first match since September against Bournemouth last weekend, was simply being rested as he works his way back to full fitness. Palmer is expected to be involved in some capacity against Everton.
How long is Liam Delap out for Chelsea?
Another player that Chelsea will be forced to make do without is summer signing Liam Delap, who sustained a serious shoulder injury during the 0-0 draw with Bournemouth. Initial reports had suggested that he might miss two months of football, but The Athletic have since reported that the Blues believe he could be out for four weeks. That makes a mid-January return likely, with the FA Cup third round tie with Charlton Athletic perhaps the most optimistic target.
Young midfielder Dário Essugo could be back soon – the 20-year-old is back in training following a thigh injury and is expected to be available for selection by the end of December, ahead of schedule compared to initial estimates. Fellow midfielder Roméo Lavia, who has a thigh injury of his own, is not expected back until early-mid January, however, after his latest setback.
Other players who will be unavailable this weekend include Levi Colwill, who may miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury, Moisés Caicedo, who is serving the final match of a three-game domestic ban following his red card against Arsenal, and Mykahylo Mudryk, who remains suspended due to alleged doping violations.
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