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Attacker Liam Delap is returning from a hamstring injury at a crucial moment for Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge outfit lost 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on recently, with head coach Enzo Maresca blaming "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "not the best".

Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and goal contributions as Delap makes his comeback in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), having missed 10 games since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in the summer.

Maresca commented the 22-year-old will be phased in "slowly", and the summer signing's return is important for a club facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the national tournaments their primary hope of winning a trophy this season.

Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro

Chelsea acquired Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite pursuit by Manchester United, St James' Park side and Everton.

Yet the young English striker was second to expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the selection hierarchy at this summer's Club World Cup - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three appearances as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the United States. The Brazilian forward added two more goals and three setups in his opening quartet of league fixtures after joining from Brighton.

More of late, however, Joao Pedro has not scored in his last seven games. Maresca revealed he is one of a trio of players - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "shielded".

When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca remarked: "Definitely the fitness aspect is important. When you are not at peak condition it's challenging to excel, particularly in this division."

"Joao Pedro is not a classic center-forward that is going to reach twenty strikes each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a alternative type of striker to ones that score 20 to 25 goals every season like the Bayern legend, the PSG forward or the City striker."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Offense

Chelsea deal with additional challenges beyond their forwards and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.

Winger Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all campaign and is not expected return from a lower body issue until the winter.

Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee rising to £52m, has zero strikes and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one goal in seven outings and forced an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, the teenager, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has only two goals and a single assist - paralleling academy forward Tyrique George.

Striker Marc Guiu and Seagulls temporary signing Facundo Buonanotte have one goal each.

Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last term, is without a goal this term. Winger Pedro Neto has a single strike and two setups in his last two games, but before that got only one goal in the opening ten matches.

After thirteen games in all competitions no attacker has over two strikes, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four.

Queried whether a lack of natural goalscorers means responsibility must be shared, Maresca commented: "Certainly, yes. We repeatedly stated that the front five at the offense, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last term."

Maresca has developed approaches to be competitive despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in free-kick and corner scores in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this season.

Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?

Some Chelsea supporters believe the striker's jersey - assigned to Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been available since recently, and footballers who wore it since the mid-2000s have found scoring difficult, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in fifty-eight matches
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five scores in 19 games
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 games
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 appearances
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in twenty matches

A midfielder and defensive specialist are among those listed, and some would contend Abraham ended the jinx with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with nine on their back.

But Delap was unfazed when questioned about the jinx. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he commented at the international tournament.

"At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your kit. It's just a figure that has traditionally been associated to strikers so it's something that I appreciate and there's no pressure."