Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to celebrate his 23rd birthday in two weeks in most unfortunate circumstances, as the young attacking midfielder has been ruled out for at least the rest of January with the latest recurrence of the back injury that’s been a constant feature of his footballing career since his days in the Academy. (At least we’re assuming it’s the same back injury that kept him out for a spell each of the last two seasons, as well during his younger days.)
#cfc set to be without #LoftusCheek for the rest of the month after midfielder confirms he needs to take a longer break to fully recover from back injury. More here: https://t.co/h6MQJhqKQZ
— Simon Johnson (@sjstandardsport) January 7, 2019
In a way, a monthlong prognosis is almost good news, considering the reaction after Saturday’s match, which included assistant Carlo Cudicini saying that the kid needs to “stop [playing] for a bit to try to resolve it” and Ruben himself posting an emotional message on Twitter about working through this latest setback.
In his press conference on Monday, Sarri revealed that the problem had been affecting Ruben for the past month.
In the end I will overcome it all. pic.twitter.com/0cRpeZEO1v
— Ruben Loftus-Cheek (@rubey_lcheek) January 6, 2019
Injuries have been an unfortunate and increasingly concerning part of Loftus-Cheek’s career, and not just of his back. He missed three months last season with an ankle injury as well, while before, his knees were of great concern. One can only hope he can indeed overcome all these various issues, so that they stop limiting his development and his career.