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Forward Liam Delap is returning from a hamstring injury at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club suffered a 2-1 defeat against surprise package Sunderland at their home ground on recently, with boss Enzo Maresca attributing "limited inventiveness" and his side's crossing being "not the best".

Chelsea's forwards are struggling for goals and key passes as Delap returns in the League Cup against struggling Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having sat out 10 fixtures since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in August.

Maresca said the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "carefully", and the new recruit's availability is crucial for a club facing criticism over their mixed results, which has left the national tournaments their best opportunity of securing honors this campaign.

Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro

Chelsea acquired Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite interest from Manchester United, the Magpies and Goodison Park team.

Yet the England Under-21s forward was second to £55m signing Joao Pedro in the selection hierarchy at this summer's Club World Cup - and with solid justification.

Joao Pedro scored three goals in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Seleção attacker notched additional strikes and three setups in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.

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

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca said: "For sure the fitness aspect is important. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, especially in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes annually. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to score and create chances but he's a distinctive forward to players who get 20 to 25 goals every season like the Polish striker, the French superstar or [Erling] Haaland."

Broader Issues in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea deal with wider issues in addition to their attackers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.

Forward Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is unlikely to be back from a lower body issue until December.

Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, acquired from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has failed to score and a single assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven outings and forced an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, eighteen, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has just two strikes and one assist - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George.

Striker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.

Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last campaign, is yet to find the net this term. Winger Pedro Neto has one score and two setups in his past two matches, but before that scored only once in the opening ten matches.

After thirteen fixtures in various cups no striker has more than two goals, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four.

Queried whether a shortage of clinical finishers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca stated: "Certainly, yes. We frequently mentioned that the quintet of attackers at the attack, we need multiple goals per player, in the way we have done last season."

Maresca has found ways to be competitive despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In moreover, the Blues are the first team to have ten distinct net-finders in the first division this season.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea supporters think the number nine shirt - taken by Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been available since last year, and players who donned it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 games
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 appearances
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in eighty-two matches
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five scores in 19 games
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 goals in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 games
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 games
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches

A midfielder and defender are included in this group, and some would argue Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his performance, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.

But Delap was unfazed when questioned about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he said at the international tournament.

"At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your uniform. It's just a number that has always been related to strikers so it's something that I like and there's no pressure."