MX23RW : Thursday, December 19 10:10:28| >> :120:44521:44521:

Chelsea confirm serious Ruben Loftus-Cheek injury

Chelsea confirm serious Ruben Loftus-Cheek injury
© Reuters
The 23-year-old will miss the Europa League final.

Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has ruptured his Achilles tendon and will have surgery on Thursday night.

The club announced that the England international suffered the injury during the 3-0 friendly win over New England Revolution in Boston on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old will now miss the Europa League final with Arsenal, as well as England's summer Nations League commitments.

With the Premier League season over and the Europa League final not until the end of the month, Chelsea were in America for a friendly to promote the club's Say No To Antisemitism campaign.

Prior to the fixture, manager Maurizio 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.

"We go there for a good reason I think, so as a man I am very happy to go there," Sarri had said.

Loftus-Cheek will be missed by club and country
Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be missed by club and country (Nick Potts/PA)

"As a coach, of course, I am a little bit worried because I know very well that the team now needs rest. So it is not the best way to prepare for the final, I think."

Loftus-Cheek's injury mirrors the one suffered by club and international team-mate Callum Hudson-Odoi last month.

Speaking about Loftus-Cheek, who had a growing influence on Chelsea towards the end of the season, England boss Gareth Southgate said on Thursday: "I went to bed last night and Ruben's in the squad and playing brilliantly.

"He misses now a major European final and a brilliant opportunity for us."

ga('create', 'UA-72310761-1', 'auto', {'name': 'pacontentapi'});
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'referrer', location.origin);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension1', 'By Press Association Sport Staff');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension2', '4f8ae4f1-1b7f-4ecf-8193-5cb4d6a2eb64');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension3', 'paservice:sport,paservice:sport:club-news,paservice:sport:football,paservice:sport:uk,paservice:sport:world');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension6', 'story');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension7', 'composite');
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension8', null);
ga('pacontentapi.set', 'dimension9', 'sport:football');
ga('pacontentapi.send', 'pageview', { 'location': location.href, 'page': (location.pathname + location.search + location.hash), 'title': 'Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek set for lengthy spell on sidelines'});

ID:359491: cacheID:359491:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5932:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Callum Hudson-Odoi in action for Chelsea on April 3, 2019
Read Next:
Hudson-Odoi to sign new five-year Chelsea deal?
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!