Chelsea have scrapped Nicolas Jackson’s planned loan move to Bayern Munich after concerns over Liam Delap’s hamstring injury, sources have told ESPN.
Delap was forced off after just 14 minutes during Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
João Pedro gave the Blues the lead with a header deep into first-half stoppage time, before Enzo Fernandez converted a penalty in the 56th minute.
“Hopefully it is not long, but this kind of injury can be six, eight weeks,” Chelsea manager Maresca said post-match on TNT Sport.
Delap’s potential absence would have left Chelsea with João Pedro as their only available senior centre-forward, with Christopher Nkunku having recently moved to AC Milan and Jackson on the verge of finalizing his loan to Bayern.
Despite Bayern agreeing to a £13 million ($17.5m) loan fee and a £56.25 million ($76m) option to buy, Jackson, who had already traveled to Germany, was instructed to return to London.
In Delap’s absence against Fulham, Maresca deployed academy graduate Tyrique George upfront.
The 19-year-old performed admirably, although he is reportedly being monitored by Roma ahead of a potential move in the next 48 hours.
“When you have two strikers, it’s enough. When one is out for several weeks, probably it’s not enough,” Maresca explained. “Tyrique played more than an hour and did brilliantly. The last time he played as a No. 9 was against Man United at home last year. We try to adapt, like last year when we used Pedro Neto in some games upfront. But two proper number nines are enough.”
Maresca added: “Liam’s injury doesn’t look good, he was at full speed when it happened, hamstring injuries always need weeks. We’ll assess options after the game and decide on next steps.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea are in talks with Brighton regarding attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte, while winger Alejandro Garnacho observed the Fulham clash as his £40 million move from Manchester United nears completion.