Chelsea striker Liam Delap is set to miss up to 12 weeks with a hamstring injury, leaving Enzo Maresca short on forward options ahead of Brentford clash

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that striker Liam Delap could be out until December after suffering a hamstring injury prior to the international break.

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The 21-year-old forward, who joined from Ipswich for £30 million in June, was forced off early during Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Fulham on 30 August and has now been ruled out for 10 to 12 weeks.

“Liam, I think it’s around 10 to 12 weeks, so a long way to go,” Maresca told reporters on Friday.

With Nicolas Jackson moving to Bayern Munich on deadline day, Maresca has had to reshuffle his attacking options.

Chelsea have recalled Marc Guiu from his loan spell at Sunderland, and Joao Pedro, signed from Brighton in July, is also under consideration as a central striker.

Maresca also hinted that youngster Tyrique George, who featured as a number nine against Fulham, could be an option moving forward.

“We have the injury for sure now in this moment as a number nine. The only one is Guiu. Joao can also play there. Against Fulham, we used Tyrique as a nine.”

There was positive news regarding Cole Palmer, who is “close” to a return after missing the wins against West Ham and Fulham due to a groin problem.

However, Maresca expressed uncertainty over the availability of several returning international players, including:

Joao Pedro
Estevão Willian
Andrey Santos
Moises Caicedo

All four featured in South American qualifiers and only returned to England on Thursday, with limited time for recovery.

“The three Brazilian players arrived yesterday; they didn’t train, they did some recovery sessions. Moises arrived last night. They’re all a question mark for tomorrow.”

The Brazilian contingent also had to contend with Bolivia’s high altitude (over 4,000m), further complicating their readiness.

Winger Alejandro Garnacho, a summer arrival from Manchester United, is still building up match fitness, but Maresca noted that the Argentine is “working well.”

Off the pitch, Chelsea were this week charged by the Football Association with 74 alleged breaches of agent payment regulations dating from 2009 to 2022, mostly during Roman Abramovich’s ownership.

“I know the club is satisfied about the situation, about the process,” Maresca said. “Personally I don’t have anything to add… I just focus on the pitch side, which I can control.”

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Despite the injury woes and administrative challenges, Chelsea remain second in the Premier League after three matches, having also won the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup in Maresca’s first season in charge.