Rory Delap Bio Send To Friend  

Delap has endured Premier League relegation battles with Sunderland and Southampton and looks set for another one with Stoke City.

Brought to Sunderland by Mick McCarthy this versatile player was sidelined during the Roy Keane era and in 2006 joined Stoke on loan, with a view to a permanent move.

On his home debut for the Potters Delap suffered a horrific injury, breaking his leg in two places while challenging for the ball.

Although only on loan Stoke were as good as there word and signed the player despite the fact he was sidelined him for the remainder of the 2006/07 season. However, Delap returned from injury to play an integral part in Stoke's promotion season the following year.

Delap really made a name for himself at Southampton, where he played 152 games, but despite being a regular for the Saints in the first half of 2005/06 he fell out of favour with new boss George Burley after the festive period - leading to his move to the Stadium of Light.

He first caught the eye as a Carlisle United player, making 87 appearances before joining Derby County for a fee of £200,000 in February 1998.

Delap grew in stature and excelled in the 2000/01 season, leading new Southampton manager Stuart Gray to swoop to smash the club's transfer record and land Delap in a £4million deal. It doubled the club's transfer record.

The player made 97 Premiership starts for the Rams, scoring 11 goals.

Delap's Southampton debut came in a 2-0 defeat at Leeds United. He proved to be an important player, although he missed a month of the season after picking up a calf injury against Liverpool in January.

He clocked up 28 appearances in his first season, along with two goals and two red cards. His first Saints goal came in a 3-1 win at Ipswich Town.

But Delap failed to make the Republic of Ireland squad for the 2002 World Cup.

He missed six weeks of the 2002/03 season after tearing the medial ligaments in his left knee. It came as a huge blow for the player who had only just recovered from a calf strain which had kept him out for two-and-a-half weeks.

The player returned to action in April, but his hopes of playing in the FA Cup final were dashed when he injured an ankle in a reserve match, which ended his season.

Delap was again struck down early in the 2003/04 season when sustaining another ankle injury, against Leeds United.

He returned to first team action in October to put his injury woes behind him and become a regular in the Southampton side again.

But in April the injury jinx struck again, this time a medial ligament injury putting him out. However, he won the club's Goal of the Season award for his bicycle kick against Tottenham Hotspur.

He was an important player for Southampton in 2004/05 but his performances failed to prevent the club from dropping out of the top-flight. And after just half a season in the Championship he signed for, well, Championship-bound Sunderland.

He returned to the Premiership with Stoke City for the 2008/09 season and his experience will be invaluable for the Potters.