Chelsea have received a significant boost ahead of a busy run of fixtures, with manager Enzo Maresca confirming that striker Liam Delap is close to returning from injury. The 22-year-old has been sidelined since August after suffering a hamstring problem, but Maresca has now revealed that his recovery is ahead of schedule, offering renewed optimism for Chelsea supporters.<\/p>\n
Encouraging Progress for Liam Delap<\/p>\n
Delap was initially ruled out for 10 to 12 weeks, a timeline that suggested he would not be back until late November or even December. However, the young forward has returned to full training and could feature as soon as next week. Maresca provided an encouraging update during his pre-match press conference.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any new injuries,\u201d Maresca told reporters on Friday. \u201cLiam took part in the session with the team for the first time. So, he\u2019s not going to be available for tomorrow\u2019s game but probably for the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/imago1063318459-scaled.jpg\")
Photo IMAGO<\/p>\n
Although this weekend\u2019s fixture comes too soon, Delap\u2019s inclusion in full training is a strong indication that he is nearing a return to competitive action. When asked about the possibility of Delap featuring in the upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Wolves, Maresca replied, \u201cHe can be available. The schedule can change a little bit, it depends on how they improve or getting worse. The first time they (the medical team) said to me that he could be available for the 25th October.\u201d<\/p>\n
Competition Heating Up in Attack<\/p>\n
Delap\u2019s comeback will add depth to Maresca\u2019s forward options, especially given Chelsea\u2019s demanding schedule across domestic and European competitions. His return also sets up an intriguing battle for places, with Marc Guiu making a strong impression in recent matches alongside Joao Pedro. Guiu\u2019s emergence has been one of the bright spots in Chelsea\u2019s season, providing both energy and clinical finishing in the final third.<\/p>\n
The return of Delap could also see him face his former loan club Sunderland sooner than expected. The striker spent a short stint there in the summer before being recalled following Chelsea\u2019s injury issues and the departures of Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.<\/p>\n
Selection Challenges for Maresca<\/p>\n
Maresca will be forced to shuffle his options for the trip to Sunderland due to Malo Gusto\u2019s one-match suspension after his red card in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from injury.<\/p>\n
Despite these absences, Maresca remains focused on maintaining Chelsea\u2019s momentum and praised Sunderland\u2019s performances under manager Regis Le Bris. \u201cThe challenge is always the same: try to win the game. They are going to try and create different situations for us. I spent one season with Leicester in the Championship and I love the Championship. I watched Sunderland since last season when the manager arrived. They play good football, they are physically strong, so I like the way they are doing things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maresca\u2019s Chelsea Building Confidence<\/p>\n
As Maresca\u2019s second season in charge unfolds, Chelsea appear more structured and confident in their play. The return of Delap could not come at a better time, offering the Blues another dimension in attack as they aim to push higher up the Premier League table and progress in the Carabao Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chelsea have received a significant boost ahead of a busy run of fixtures, with manager Enzo Maresca confirming…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":331283,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[102559,24937,461,3241,6076,1322,16867,164424,73898,164425,220,164426,221,62,93856,108017,67,132,68,96708,9571],"class_list":{"0":"post-331282","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-carabao-cup","9":"tag-champions-league","10":"tag-chelsea","11":"tag-cole-palmer","12":"tag-enzo-maresca","13":"tag-featured","14":"tag-joao-pedro","15":"tag-liam-delap","16":"tag-marc-guiu","17":"tag-mykhailo-mudryk","18":"tag-premier-league","19":"tag-regis-le-bris","20":"tag-soccer","21":"tag-sports","22":"tag-stamford-bridge","23":"tag-sunderland","24":"tag-united-states","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-us","27":"tag-vitor-pereira","28":"tag-wolves"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115434196294310788","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=331282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331282\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}