Chelsea forward Liam Delap could be sidelined again after suffering a shoulder injury in the first half of Saturday’s 0–0 Premier League draw at Bournemouth, manager Enzo Maresca revealed.

The striker, who joined Stamford Bridge from Ipswich Town in June, had previously been out with a hamstring problem earlier this season and only returned to action last month.

“He has been unlucky. We are also a bit unlucky because we need that kind of number nine,” Maresca said after the match. “Unfortunately, he has already been out for two months, and now he has to be out again. We don’t know for how long, but it looks quite bad — his shoulder.”

Chelsea recorded their first goalless draw since August, when they played Crystal Palace at home, and currently sit fourth in the league with 25 points from 15 games.

“I think it was a game where we lacked a bit of quality in the final third,” Maresca added. “There were many mistakes. We missed some passes and some shooting opportunities we could have taken.”

Chelsea’s next fixtures see them travel to face Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, before returning home to host Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.