Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Chelsea midfielder ‘facing year out with ruptured Achilles’ as Gareth Southgate confirms injury blow

Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Chelsea midfielder ‘facing year out with ruptured Achilles’ as Gareth Southgate confirms injury blow
Ruben Loftus-Cheek will reportedly miss up to a year of football after suffering a serious injury during Chelsea’s friendly with New England Revolution.The Blues won 3-0 in the United States but Maurizio Sarri, the club’s manager, was dealt a huge blow when Loftus-Cheek went down injured, and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches and in a protective boot.Twitter @CarefreeLewisG2

Chelsea fans were distressed when post-match photos of Loftus-Cheek were shared on social media

And, according to The Sun, the England midfielder faces a minimum six months on the sidelines, with a ruptured Achilles potentially keeping him out for a whole year.This means Loftus-Cheek will miss the Europa League final, this summer’s Nations League finals, and the start of next season.Gareth Southgate confirmed in a press conference today that Loftus-Cheek was going to be in his squad for next month’s Nations League finals, but he had to call-up a replacement after waking up and seeing the midfielder’s injury.“We will find out more about a couple of players in that period and then I am going to have to make a couple of decisions,” said Southgate. “But we can change if we have injuries after that date. Frankly there is every chance that is going to happen. “We have just got to make the best possible decisions really with the information that we have. It is constantly moving.“I went to bed last night and Ruben is in the squad and playing brilliantly and now it is a huge disappointment for him. He misses now a major European final and a brilliant opportunity with us.“In particular he has really come on in the last few months and looked strong and playing with a lot of confidence and I am really disappointed for him in particular.”Southgate also claimed Callum Hudson-Odoi, Loftus-Cheek’s Chelsea team-mate, would have been in the England squad if he did not pick up a serious injury of his own during the final weeks of the Premier League season.@England2

Southgate confirmed his 27-man England squad for the Nations League finals on Thursday afternoon

Chelsea’s medical staff are still assessing the extent of Loftus-Cheek’s injury and must decide whether the 23-year-old should undergo surgery.Loftus-Cheek suffered the injury just after the hour mark, despite only being introduced as a half-time substitute.He was replaced by the club’s Academy Player of the Year, Conor Gallagher.Chelsea were in the US for a charity friendly as part of their Say No To Antisemitism campaign.Prior to the fixture, Sarri lauded the trip’s purpose, but conceded that he felt his men needed to rest.Nevertheless, the Italian fielded a strong starting XI at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where owner Roman Abramovich was in attendance on Wednesday night.

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Ross Barkley got Chelsea off to a rapid start with the first of two goals for the midfielder, finding the net in the third minute with a ball intercepted from a clearance effort by Revolution defender Jalil Anibaba.Olivier Giroud put Chelsea up 2-0 just before the half-hour mark, heading a cross from Davide Zappacosta.Sarri made six changes at half-time, among them bringing on Loftus-Cheek in place of Mateo Kovacic.Barkley made it 3-0 for the visitors just after the hour, with New England managing to hold off Chelsea for the remainder of the match.

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