Ahead of Chelsea’s trip to the Gtech Community Stadium to take on Brentford this weekend, Enzo Maresca has held his routine pre-match press conference. The Chelsea manager gave updates on both Liam Delap and Cole Palmer, who have been carrying injury problems, according to a report from TEAMtalk.
Delap sustained a hamstring injury during Chelsea‘s 2-0 win against Fulham, while Palmer has been suffering with a small groin issue. Delap recently had a scan, and Maresca has now confirmed how long the striker will be out for.
With Delap pulling his hamstring, no one expected the Englishman to be back soon, while it had already been reported that he could be out for months.
Maresca has now delivered the news that Chelsea fans were fearing, though he did also reveal that Palmer trained on Thursday in a massive boost.
Speaking to Football.london and the rest of the English media in his pre-match press conference, he said: “Cole took part in the session yesterday for the first time, not the entire session.
“We have one more session this afternoon and we are going to try with him to see if he’s okay, otherwise he will be out tomorrow.” On Delap, the Italian said: “It’s around 10 to 12 weeks.”
Delap is now set to miss some huge games, including clashes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Manchester United in the Premier League.
The Blues should at least have Palmer back for those two massive fixtures, though.
With Delap definitely out of the Brentford game, you would expect Joao Pedro to start up front. Maresca, of course, has also used him as a No.10 this season, so you cannot rule out him starting there either.
If Palmer also misses out, Estevao Willian could move into the No.10 position, which would allow Pedro to lead the line.
Chelsea will be pleased with their results prior to the international break, taking seven points from nine. It has them currently sitting in second place.