Ruben Loftus-Cheek

[Jase 43,479]

Loftus-Cheek’s calf muscles halved in size after achilles tear, his return isn’t imminent but he still has potential to be ‘like Hazard’

https://theathletic.com/1516833/2020/01/08/loftus-cheek-chelsea-injury-latest/

When Chelsea take to the field against Burnley on Saturday, Ruben Loftus-Cheek is expected to be somewhere in the Stamford Bridge stands cheering his team-mates on.

The England midfielder has been a regular at the Bridge this season while working his way back to full fitness after rupturing his left achilles tendon.

Not only does Loftus-Cheek want to provide support, it helps him feel a part of things as he continues his lengthy rehabilitation.

It is now eight months since the midfielder collapsed to the pitch in agony during a friendly against MLS side New England Revolution in the USA and a date for his return to the first team has still not been set.

Sources have told The Athletic that, despite Loftus-Cheek posting videos on social media last month of him training, a first-team appearance isn’t imminent. Indeed, it has been suggested he might not be seen until the latter part of the season.

Neither Chelsea, nor their coach Frank Lampard have wanted to put an official time-frame on it, which is understandable as this isn’t the kind of thing to be rushed.

But significantly, former manager Maurizio Sarri’s prediction of seeing him back in the group within “four to six months” has been proven to be far too optimistic.

Understandably, some fans are beginning to question what’s going on, particularly as another Chelsea youngster, Callum Hudson-Odoi, suffered a similar achilles injury just three weeks before Loftus-Cheek and has been back playing since September.

However, it is understood Hudson-Odoi’s was a clean rupture and the surgery to correct it was straightforward. In contrast, one source referred to Loftus-Cheek’s torn achilles as looking “like a horse’s tail” because the fibres were so ripped and the procedure to fix it was a lot more complicated.

Still, the 23-year-old told The Athletic after the Champions League loss to Valencia in September that he expected to be playing again in six weeks. Obviously, that never materialised.

When asked for an update on the situation in December, Lampard said: “He has had a few setbacks over the last two months. He hasn’t had a new one. It is not flying along as we would want. It’s not for the want of trying for everybody.”

It is believed this wasn’t a case of Loftus-Cheek suffering another injury, just a complication of all those ripped fibres mentioned above healing properly.

Loftus-Cheek could be forgiven if he was seen around the place looking a bit subdued, yet he has been anything but. Everyone at Chelsea has been impressed with the way he has conducted himself and maintained a happy disposition, despite the obvious frustration of having to watch games from the sidelines.

While Loftus-Cheek is not in a position to work with the squad yet, his individual exercise programme has been designed so he is usually on site when everyone else is.

There might be days where the main group trains at 11am and he begins an hour later, but there is a conscious effort not to make him go through the process alone so he can still interact with the others.

The methods are mixed. He may start or finish the day with a session in the pool or gym. When training with the ball, he has first-team physio Jon Fearn going through the exercises with him.

Encouragingly, Loftus-Cheek has been heard to remark recently how much stronger he is feeling. There was a lot of work to be done because, after the protective boot came off his left foot in July, he was aware of how the calf muscles had halved in size due to a lack of activity.

The last video posted on his Instagram account, at the start of December, shows that is no longer an issue.

Just to give him a break from the intense process, he was given a few days off before Christmas to get some winter sun abroad before resuming the hard work over the holiday period.

How Chelsea would love to have him back as soon as possible to help with their bid to finish in the top four and qualify for next season’s Champions League.

It could be argued he was the team’s second-best performer only behind Eden Hazard at the back end of last season and certainly played a major role in helping them reach the Europa League final. Amid a string of fine performances, there was a hat-trick against BATE Borisov and a crucial strike in the second leg of the semi-final versus Eintracht Frankfurt.

But just a couple of weeks before the final against Arsenal, Chelsea played that friendly in Boston. Observers were worried about the uneven state of the surface at Gillette Stadium, also home to the NFL’s New England Patriots, before kick-off and Loftus-Cheek fell awkwardly just after the hour mark.

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Rob Green questions the wisdom of playing the fixture, which was organised to promote a campaign against anti-Semitism, to this day.

He tells The Athletic: “He played in that stupid game in America and snapped his achilles. Yes, I appreciate it was a charity match. But two weeks before a Europa League final, you find yourself playing in the USA, at around 4am UK time on a pitch that is covered in sand. It was hardly ideal.”

Lampard’s side have been missing a consistent goal threat from midfield all season and Loftus-Cheek’s towering 6ft 4in physique alongside 6ft 3in forward Tammy Abraham would clearly help give more presence in the opposition penalty area.

But given Loftus-Cheek has a long history of injury issues — he took up yoga last season to help combat a back problem first suffered as a teenager — the club are not going to risk rushing a comeback, only to see him suffer another injury. They have already underlined their trust in his talent and ability by handing Loftus-Cheek a new five-year contract last summer.

Green believes it was the right decision, having trained with Loftus-Cheek and seen him in action under Sarri last season. Indeed, he feels Loftus-Cheek has the greatest potential among all the respected academy graduates.

“I just think the temperament as an individual and the ability he has, he can be anything he wants to be,” Green adds. “He has the opportunity to do something like Hazard, if he stays fit and plays games.

“For me the power that he’s got, the strength… I don’t think he even knows the strength he has. He can position his body so that his opponent will just fly off into the distance — a bit like the cartoon character Obelix.

” Ruben can shoot, dribble, run, has pace, skill, everything. He just needs that consistent run of games over a two-year period. Last season he had smaller problems before the achilles. He’d get himself into a position where he’d play a game or two and then drop out again. Then it would take a month for him to get back up to speed, he’d have to catch the manager’s eye and it felt like Sarri was thinking, ‘I can’t quite trust you for a big game’.

“Ruben and I would laugh and joke about it sometimes. I remember he scored a hat-trick in the Europa League (BATE Borisov) but didn’t start the next match (against Burnley) and I told him, ‘You should have scored four!’ And he himself was saying, ‘What more do I need to do?’

“I felt for him, because he was on loan at Crystal Palace the season before and obviously got a good run of games. He is good enough to be a mainstay in the first team at Chelsea, but he needs to be a mainstay, he needs to be fit.

“He might just have one of those bodies, a bit like Vincent Kompany’s, which is too powerful for its own good. It just breaks down.”

Loftus-Cheek turns 24 in a fortnight and the statistics show he has started just 33 Premier League games in his professional career — 21 of which were during that loan at Palace in 2017-18.

That is clearly not enough for a man of his talent and previous coaches, as well as misfortune with injuries, have been to blame.

Those appearance figures will definitely improve under Lampard, who remains a huge admirer and is looking forward to coaching him.

Another fan of Loftus-Cheek is England manager Gareth Southgate, who gave him four appearances at the last World Cup finals and would have played him at the Nations League finals last summer but for his achilles injury.

Before being considered for selection by club or country again, Loftus-Cheek will have to undergo a mini pre-season to be match-ready. That is likely to include a few outings with Chelsea’s development squad as well as weeks of full-contact training with the main group.

But there is still plenty of time for Loftus-Cheek to make an impact at Chelsea this season and earn a spot in England’s ranks for Euro 2020 in the summer.

It would be a fitting reward for an individual who deserves a bit of fortune after a period in his career he’d like to forget.

[Vesper 29,017]

2 hours ago, Jason said:

Loftus-Cheek’s calf muscles halved in size after achilles tear, his return isn’t imminent but he still has potential to be ‘like 

 

I am still seething about.....

He tells The Athletic: “He played in that stupid game in America and snapped his achilles. Yes, I appreciate it was a charity match. But two weeks before a Europa League final, you find yourself playing in the USA, at around 4am UK time on a pitch that is covered in sand. It was hardly ideal.”

Chelsea goalkeeper Rob Green questions the wisdom of playing the fixture, which was organised to promote a campaign against anti-Semitism, to this day.

He tells The Athletic: “He played in that stupid game in America and snapped his achilles. Yes, I appreciate it was a charity match. But two weeks before a Europa League final, you find yourself playing in the USA, at around 4am UK time on a pitch that is covered in sand. It was hardly ideal.”

[killer1257 3,282]

RLC has some crazy muscle building genetics. His calf muscle will be back to its best when everything is healed up properly. CHOs calf looks normal again too. Just takes time and RLC can easily build up muscles that he already once developt due to muscle memory. He will need some time to get his dribbling and passing alright, but this is RLCs second big injury. He knows how to come back stronger.

RLC is my favourite Youth Player of all time. Second is Boga

Gesendet von meinem SM-G920F mit Tapatalk

[whats happening 1,533]

3 hours ago, Vesper said:

 

I am still seething about.....

He tells The Athletic: “He played in that stupid game in America and snapped his achilles. Yes, I appreciate it was a charity match. But two weeks before a Europa League final, you find yourself playing in the USA, at around 4am UK time on a pitch that is covered in sand. It was hardly ideal.”

Chelsea goalkeeper Rob Green questions the wisdom of playing the fixture, which was organised to promote a campaign against anti-Semitism, to this day.

He tells The Athletic: “He played in that stupid game in America and snapped his achilles. Yes, I appreciate it was a charity match. But two weeks before a Europa League final, you find yourself playing in the USA, at around 4am UK time on a pitch that is covered in sand. It was hardly ideal.”

heads should be chopped for that game alone. but it was romans' idea wasnt it?

[ZAPHOD2319 4,517]

24 minutes ago, whats happening said:

heads should be chopped for that game alone. but it was romans' idea wasnt it?

Yes, it was to raise money and awareness for the Holocaust Museum.

[Tomo 21,733]

The pitch was an awful choice but the match was very much nessesery.

Two and a half weeks without a proper game before a final was too much, we needed something for match sharpness heading to Baku.

[OneMoSalah 8,784]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

The pitch was an awful choice but the match was very much nessesery.

Two and a half weeks without a proper game before a final was too much, we needed something for match sharpness heading to Baku.

It was and it wasnt.

As you said we maybe needed a match for sharpness and it was for a good cause but again, the pitch and location was horrific and playing somebody who has always struggled with injuries/fitness continually throughout his whole career on that pitch was always gonna be a risk.

Hopefully he finds a way to combat this fitness problems and can feature for longer than the usual 60,65 minutes he would do when he stayed fit because he can have a huge influence on this team imo. He brings a real physicality and presence, like Yaya Toure did for City.  Okay Toure was light years ahead of what Ruben is and he is a totally different player perhaps but Toures physical presence was a huge plus for that City team. Everytime we played City and he played I thought thank fuck I am not a professional having to play against that fucker lol, he would just boss games and bully teams. Except for when Matic bullied him when he signed for us.

 

[Vesper 29,017]

27 minutes ago, OneMoSalah said:

It was and it wasnt.

As you said we maybe needed a match for sharpness and it was for a good cause but again, the pitch and location was horrific and playing somebody who has always struggled with injuries/fitness continually throughout his whole career on that pitch was always gonna be a risk.

Hopefully he finds a way to combat this fitness problems and can feature for longer than the usual 60,65 minutes he would do when he stayed fit because he can have a huge influence on this team imo. He brings a real physicality and presence, like Yaya Toure did for City.  Okay Toure was light years ahead of what Ruben is and he is a totally different player perhaps but Toures physical presence was a huge plus for that City team. Everytime we played City and he played I thought thank fuck I am not a professional having to play against that fucker lol, he would just boss games and bully teams. Except for when Matic bullied him when he signed for us.

 

Yaya Toure was a beast in his prime. There are no really similar players on the planet atm like he was. Damn what a monster he would be for us if we has a 22yo clone of him now.

[Jase 43,479]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

The pitch was an awful choice but the match was very much nessesery.

Two and a half weeks without a proper game before a final was too much, we needed something for match sharpness heading to Baku.

Said it before, Sarri should be held accountable for playing Loftus-Cheek in that match, especially knowing his fitness/injury/back problems. 

About the game, sure, it was for a good cause but the timing was really poor. And if we're talking strictly about maintaining match fitness, we could have easily arranged a friendly with some other team back home.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,898]

5 hours ago, whats happening said:

heads should be chopped for that game alone. but it was romans' idea wasnt it?

Exactly, so no heads are in any danger at all. The club's heart was in the right place, it was for a good cause, but a bit of pragmatism was required.

[chippy 342]

The stat of being 24 and only starting 33 games underlines how desperately unlucky he's been with injuries. When fully fit and given a good run of games he was really starting to  show the huge potential we all know he has. Without those injuries he might well be up there with the elte players in the Premiership or even true world class. I just pray he can regain full fitness and get back to his best. 

[Jase 43,479]

Lampard with latest on Loftus-Cheek...

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/01/10/frank-lampard-rules-trio-out--updates-on-january-speculation-and?_branch_match_id=744198548489059432

Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] is still out and he’s out for a while but hopefully he’ll start getting involved in a bit of collective football, maybe with the Academy to get his eye in slightly in terms of playing because he’s at that stage now.’

[Jase 43,479]

GOOD NEWS!

[Tomo 21,733]

57 minutes ago, Jason said:

GOOD NEWS!

I think the best course of action with Ruben is to write off the season, give him whatever minutes we can and then condition him to hitnthe ground running next season, in other words give him a long pre season.

Given the severity of his injury it will be a miracle if we get last season's version back quickly.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

On ‎09‎-‎01‎-‎2020 at 6:02 PM, Jason said:

Said it before, Sarri should be held accountable for playing Loftus-Cheek in that match, especially knowing his fitness/injury/back problems. 

About the game, sure, it was for a good cause but the timing was really poor. And if we're talking strictly about maintaining match fitness, we could have easily arranged a friendly with some other team back home.

It was utterly stupid to have this match at the time. Play it after the final not before. And I dont buy the notion that we would not have been match fit, you dont go stale after 2 weeks. You could easily just do intense training and still be fit. RLC wont be counted on this season, give him the time to build up again and have him go next season.....thats if he even can be the same player. Ugly injury.

[Tomo 21,733]

1 hour ago, Atomiswave said:

It was utterly stupid to have this match at the time. Play it after the final not before. And I dont buy the notion that we would not have been match fit, you dont go stale after 2 weeks. 

Not true, the CL final was played like a pre season freindly because the team weren't sharp enough. Conte played a full strength team in the FA Cup against lower league opposition because he didn't want the main boys to go into a league game with no match for two weeks, went as far as calling it "dangerous".

1 hour ago, Atomiswave said:

You could easily just do intense training and still be fit. 

Training isn't the same, training gets you fit, playing matches get you match fit. There's a huge difference between being fit and match fit.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

18 minutes ago, Tomo said:

Not true, the CL final was played like a pre season freindly because the team weren't sharp enough. Conte played a full strength team in the FA Cup against lower league opposition because he didn't want the main boys to go into a league game with no match for two weeks, went as far as calling it "dangerous".

Training isn't the same, training gets you fit, playing matches get you match fit. There's a huge difference between being fit and match fit.

Yea I get that but its 2 weeks mate not 2months. They should be plenty fit if they practice with high intensity is all im saying. Its a very short window, they wont crash and burn for not playing a match for 2 weeks, at the very end of the season it should be helpful actually. That match could have easily costed us more than RLC in those conditions.

[Jase 43,479]

1 hour ago, Tomo said:

Not true, the CL final was played like a pre season freindly because the team weren't sharp enough. Conte played a full strength team in the FA Cup against lower league opposition because he didn't want the main boys to go into a league game with no match for two weeks, went as far as calling it "dangerous".

Training isn't the same, training gets you fit, playing matches get you match fit. There's a huge difference between being fit and match fit.

I don't disagree with the point you're trying to make but in our case, not sure if playing that match really made any difference to the match fitness. That game in the US was 3 days after our last league game (May 12) and after that, we had two full weeks to prep for the Europa League. If that friendly game was played a week before the final, then yeah but since it wasn't, don't think it mattered too much. I'm sure if the club were concerned about the match fitness, they would have just arranged a friendly with some other club back home or heck, scheduled that friendly in the US a week before the final.