All of the Chelsea games Liam Delap is expected to miss after new injury update
Liam Delap could miss up to 15 Chelsea games after tearing his shoulder ligaments against Bournemouth last time out.
The striker was forced off in the first-half against the Cherries as Chelsea were held to a goalless draw on Saturday (6 December).
Delap has struggled to make an impact on the Chelsea team since he joined from Ipswich Town in the summer transfer window.
He suffered a hamstring injury in August that ruled him out for over two months of action, and was trusted to start games regularly by Enzo Maresca on his return to fitness in November.
Delap was criticised by Chelsea fans for his performances since returning to their side, but his latest injury will still come as a huge blow to their chances of success on numerous fronts this season.
Delap could be out until the end of January with shoulder issue
The 22-year-old had to go off in the 32nd minute at the Vitality Stadium, with that being just his sixth start in the Premier League so far this season.
Enzo Maresca admitted that Delap’s injury looked “quite bad“ after the game, and it has now been revealed by talkSPORT that he could face up to eight weeks on the sidelines due to the severity of the ligament tear.
Delap missed 10 Chelsea games due to the hamstring injury he picked up earlier in the season, and this latest problem is set to rule him out of even more key matches during a busy winter schedule.
Delap could miss 15 Chelsea games including Man City, Newcastle and Napoli clashes
Delap has rejoined a Chelsea injury list which already includes midfielders Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo, who are each out until January, as well as Levi Colwill, who will not play in 2025-26 after surgery on an ACL injury in the summer.
Maresca had to call upon Marc Guiu as his replacement against Bournemouth, with only him and Joao Pedro as his striker options for the next six to eight weeks.
The Blues are surely set to err on the side of caution when it comes to Delap’s recovery considering his recent injury history, so Football Insider have used the eight-week timeframe to list the games that he could be sidelined for.
December
- Tuesday, 9 December – Atalanta (a), Champions League
- Saturday, 13 December – Everton (H), Premier League
- Tuesday, 16 December – Cardiff (a), EFL Cup
- Saturday, 20 December – Newcastle (a), Premier League
- Saturday, 27 December – Aston Villa (H), Premier League
- Tuesday, 30 December – Bournemouth (H), Premier League
January
- Sunday, 4 January – Man City (a), Premier League
- Wednesday, 7 January – Fulham (a), Premier League
- 10/11 January – FA Cup third round fixture
- 13/14 January – EFL Cup semi-final first-leg fixture (if Chelsea beat Cardiff)
- Saturday, 17 January – Brentford (H), Premier League
- Wednesday, 21 January – Pafos (H), Champions League
- Sunday, 25 January – Crystal Palace (a), Premier League
- Wednesday, 28 January – Napoli (a), Champions League
- Saturday, 31 January – West Ham (H), Premier League