Chelsea striker Liam Delap may be out for weeks after suffering a hamstring injury during Saturday’s 2-0 Premier League win over Fulham, manager Enzo Maresca said.
Delap went down clutching his thigh 13 minutes into the home game and walked straight into the tunnel after the medics had looked at it.
Three key Chelsea players have now suffered injuries this month, with attacker Cole Palmer also absent due to a groin injury and centre back Levi Colwill ruled out for most of the season with a cruciate ligament tear.
“Injury doesn’t look good. He was full speed, hamstring, so that requires weeks,” Maresca told a press conference.
Maresca, who said Chelsea would look to sign another defender after Colwill’s injury, did not rule out going into the market for another striker.
“When you have two strikers, it is enough. When one of them is injured for weeks, it is probably not enough,” he said.
The manager said he could not tell if this summer’s Club World Cup campaign, which Chelsea won, played any role in the injuries.
Maresca, however, was happy to have two league wins in a row after being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace in their opening league game.
“I’m very happy. We have seven points, it’s important. I wasn’t happy after the first half because we didn’t play on the ball in the way we prepared. Second half, we were very good on the ball and good with second balls. We dominated the second half,” he added.
