Ruben Loftus-Cheek is one of several key Chelsea players currently recovering from major injuries, and he has the longest road ahead of him yet. While Callum Hudson-Odoi, Antonio Rüdiger, and Willian are all expected to be back in the next month or so, Loftus-Cheek is probably looking at a winter return.
But there is some progress to observe today, after Ruben posted a brief video on his social media, with him going for a first run in the pool, two months after suffering a ruptured Achilles in the charity match against New England Revolution.
First run today pic.twitter.com/2CaYbmuqnN
— Ruben Loftus-Cheek (@rubey_lcheek) July 15, 2019
Pool running is a common injury recovery exercise as it lessens the impact the exercise would have on the injured body part, but still uses the same muscles as it normally would (provided you maintain proper form). It looks like Ruben’s actually touching the floor, too (able to bear weight), which isn’t always the case with initial workouts.
Obviously there’s still a long ways to go for the 23-year-old, but since he signed his new long-term deal earlier this summer, we have all the time in the world to ensure he recovers properly from the unfortunate injury. Hopefully he returns in time to help a top-four push in the second-half of the season!