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Chelsea have been handed another injury blow as Liam Delap was forced off with a shoulder problem in the side's clash with Bournemouth. It came in a duel at a corner, with the striker landing awkwardly alongside Marcos Senesi, requiring treatment from the physios.

The striker had to use his shirt as a sling, as he came off, with Marc Guiu coming on in his place for the rest of the match. It's yet another potentially devastating blow for Delap, who has had a stop-start beginning to his Chelsea career so far.

The Blues paid roughly £30m to land the forward from Ipswich Town in the summer, following an impressive debut campaign in the Premier League - even despite the Tractor Boys suffering relegation. Delap made an impact during the Club World Cup, and while he looked to kick on during the new season, he faced some struggles.

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A hamstring injury in August kept him out for a couple of months, leaving Chelsea with a lack of options at centre-forward. Enzo Maresca has toyed with his options up there, including the use of Joao Pedro, Pedro Neto, and Guiu. An eventual return was met with some more adversity, as Delap's red card against Wolves led to some criticism.

In the time since then, the striker has started to pick up a little momentum. The 22-year-old picked up his first goal of the season in Chelsea's thrashing of Barcelona, coming as quite the timely boost.

While that may have been seen as a turning point for Delap, it may not have worked out that way. A shoulder injury forced him off against Bournemouth before half-time, as he now faces a potential spell on the sidelines.

"It was a long time for him to be out," Maresca said before the game with Bournemouth, reflecting on the hamstring injury. "I think he is getting better and the other day against Leeds, he had two or three chances where he could have done better.

"I know Liam from many years ago at Manchester City and I don’t have any doubts that he will score goals and be important for us."

It was a huge blow to both Delap and Chelsea that he suffered that injury in a match where the team needed to show a response. After an impressive draw with Arsenal, the midweek defeat to Leeds was a below-par performance and result for the side, stopping their charge up the table.

The clash with Bournemouth was hardly the easiest of games to get a response in, with the first half proving how tough the Cherries would be. The home side thought they took the lead through Antoine Semenyo, but the goal was disallowed for an offside before the finish.

While Chelsea dominated the ball in the first 45 minutes, with 65% possession, they had just three shots to show for it, none of them on target. Bournemouth, in contrast, had ten shots with four on target.