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Liam Delap could return to action sooner rather than later. The 22-year-old striker, who Chelsea signed from Ipswich Town for £30m in the summer, suffered a hamstring injury during the Blues' 2-0 win over Fulham just before the international break.
Speaking to reporters at Stamford Bridge after the game, Enzo Maresca issued a worrying initial assessment. The Chelsea boss said: "Liam's injury doesn't look good in terms of, he was full speed, hamstring, so that requires, like always, weeks.
"And then in terms of another striker, to be honest, we just finished the game from the changing room and came here for the press conference, so now after, when we finish, we're going to sit and we'll see if we take any decision. That's all."
Shortly after Maresca's post-match press conference, Chelsea recalled Marc Guiu from his proposed season-long loan at Sunderland. Fortunately for Delap, his injury isn't as bad as first feared by club officials.
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According to The Athletic, the England Under-21 international is expected to return to training in November, with no surgery required. The report claims that Delap could be available for selection again ahead of the festive period, with his lay-off estimated to be about 10 weeks from the time of the injury.
Despite having only featured a handful of times for Chelsea, he's already got his hands on a trophy. Delap helped the Blues win the Club World Cup in the summer, netting against Esperance in the group stages.
Speaking to reporters in the United States ahead of the tournament's opener, Maresca showered the Englishman with praise. The Chelsea boss said: "He knows exactly what we can give him, and I know what Liam can give us.
"The season we were together, we won the Under-21 competition for the first time for Man City and he scored 24 goals. So it’s a win-win, and the conversation before he joined was an easy conversation. We like Liam, Liam likes us. So it was easy.’
"When we faced Ipswich, when Liam wasn’t a Chelsea player, I said that for me, he can potentially be England’s No.9. That was when he wasn’t even with us. For sure, now he is with us, I will say again I don’t have any doubt he can be a future England No.9.’
On competition for a place in the starting lineup, Maresca added: "I never say to a player they will be first choice. The message is the same: you arrive, you work hard, you work more than, in this case, the other number nines, and you can be the first choice.
"The conversation with Liam was quite clear; he was keen to join us because he knows how we play. Liam knows quite well how important the number nine is. Personally, I don’t see any problem about that; Liam is quite relaxed and easy.
"He has done well since he arrived and is working well. We know each other from years ago, so I know what he can give us, and he knows what we can give to him to help him improve to become a better player.
"Hopefully, in terms of the No.9, he can score goals for us."
Delap picked up from where he left off in pre-season, netting a brace in a 4-1 friendly win over AC Milan.
This is a developing news story that will be updated with relevant information as we get it. More to follow...
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