Cole Palmer and Liam Delap Chelsea injury latest as fresh blow emerges and statement released

Enzo Maresca has been handed a fresh Chelsea injury concern during September's international break. Cole Palmer and Liam Delap have both suffered issues over recent weeks to join the likes of Benoit Badiashile, Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill in the treatment room.

The Blues have so far coped without those key players and it is very possible they will have to continue to do so given Maresca's updates on Palmer and Delap.

"Liam's injury doesn't look good in terms of, he was full speed, hamstring, so that required, like always, weeks," the Chelsea boss admitted after he was forced off early into the win over Fulham.

The previous week away at West Ham, Palmer did not even feature having been unable to get through the warm up at the London Stadium. Maresca later revealed that it was a pre-existing issue that would need to be managed going forward.

"The (Crystal) Palace game, he (Palmer) was not 100 per cent. But he's trying to make a big effort for the club, for the team, for the fans. Tonight again he tried again, but it was not very good."

In his Fulham pre-match press conference six days later - after ruling him out - Maresca added: "Cole, we need to see day by day."

While Palmer and Delap are among those staying at Cobham, several other Chelsea stars are playing for their countries. Marc Cucurella and Estevao Willian have both scored for Spain and Brazil, respectively - while Dario Essugo was set to feature for Portugal under-21s.

However, he missed their 5-0 win over Azerbaijan due to a muscular injury with his departure from their national team camp confirmed in a club statement. "Feirense player called up to replace João Veloso," it read on Portugal's official website.

"National Coach Oceano Cruz has made a change to the squad for the U20 National Team, which continues to prepare for matches against Czech Republic and Poland, counting towards the Elite League.

"João Veloso was called up to the U21s to cover Dário Essugo's injury, which led Oceano Cruz to call up Gabriel Costa.

"The squad continues training at the Cidade do Futebol, with a match scheduled for this Thursday. Portugal faces the Czech Republic on September 4th at the National Stadium, followed by a match against Poland in Suwalki on the 9th.

Another update added: "The Chelsea midfielder was excused from training due to a muscle problem in his right thigh, which he suffered after training on Monday. The athlete was evaluated by the Portuguese Football Federation's Health and Performance Department on Tuesday morning and was declared unavailable."

Essugo joined Chelsea this summer and has remained an unused substitute in all three of their Premier League games, so far. With Romeo Lavia out and concerns surrounding Moises Caicedo after he missed Ecuador's clash with Paraguay, Maresca will be hoping is not too serious for Essugo.

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