Chelsea forward Liam Delap may be sidelined again with a shoulder injury, with manager Enzo Maresca admitting the situation doesn’t look good.

Chelsea forward Liam Delap is facing another spell on the sidelines with a shoulder injury, which forced him off in the first half of Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Bournemouth. 

Delap, who joined Chelsea from Ipswich Town in June, has been plagued by injuries, having previously suffered a hamstring injury earlier in the season.

“It looks quite bad, his shoulder,” manager Enzo Maresca said, expressing his concerns about Delap’s latest injury. “He has been unlucky. We are also a bit unlucky because we need that kind of number nine.”

Delap had just returned to the team last month after a two-month absence, and his latest injury is a major blow to Chelsea’s attacking prospects. Maresca acknowledged that the team missed Delap’s quality in the final third, struggling to create clear-cut chances against Bournemouth.

The 0-0 draw was Chelsea’s first goalless match since August, and they remain in fourth place in the league table with 25 points from 15 games. Maresca was disappointed with the team’s performance, citing a lack of quality in the final third and mistakes that cost them opportunities to score.

“We missed some passes in the last third, some moments that we could shoot and didn’t,” Maresca said, reflecting on the team’s struggles. Chelsea will look to bounce back from this result when they face Atalanta in a Champions League clash on Tuesday, followed by a Premier League match against Everton on Saturday.

The injury to Delap is a significant setback for Chelsea, and Maresca will be hoping that his team can regroup and refocus on their upcoming fixtures. With a busy schedule ahead, the Blues will need to find a way to overcome this latest challenge and continue their push for success.