Frank Lampard has given a less than enthusiastic update on Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s fitness. The Chelsea player will return but what form remains to be seen.
A common refrain among Chelsea fans has been “wait until Ruben Loftus-Cheek is back”. Whether he is displacing Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, or someone else, there is a sense that Loftus-Cheek will walk right back into the side and pick up where he left off last season.
Frank Lampard advises not to hold any breath. It was already known that Loftus-Cheek would likely not be back in training until this winter but Lampard has further confirmed the midfielder has had several setbacks. It would not stop there though. Even if Loftus-Cheek begins training again just after New Year’s, it may be months before he is safely brought up to full fitness. Then more months before he starts to find form again.
Loftus-Cheek will return eventually and a place will be made for him somewhere. But the club cannot plan on him being the savior of the season. The longer he spends out, the longer it will take him to return. Even when he does return, what player returns remains to be seen.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has faced similar issues with a similar injury. There was the time when he returned to training again and Lampard began to ease him into the team. In general, he was looking very good. But then a few starts showed that Hudson-Odoi was not fully up to speed. Injuries like his and Loftus-Cheek’s can steal a yard of pace, even if not permanently, and Hudson-Odoi is still looking to regain it. He is still a good player, but the injury has taken its toll.
Fans should expect something similar with Loftus-Cheek. Though he does not rely on a burst of pace like Hudson-Odoi sometimes does, his game is quite physical. That will take time to rebuild but that is not the only concern. Loftus-Cheek’s injury history should be a concern as well.
Even before this long term layoff, Loftus-Cheek has been somewhat injury prone. Injuries lead to more injuries even if it is not the same muscle. Players accommodate to cope with one injury causing another. That has been Loftus-Cheek’s career in fits and starts.
One thing injury cannot take from him, however, is his game intelligence. Loftus-Cheek, like many of Chelsea’s academy products of the last decade or so, has a near supernatural understanding of space on and off the ball. That is only developed with time and is not a deteriorating skill set.
So when Loftus-Cheek does eventually return, he may not be the same player. But if he can repurpose his intelligence into what his body is now capable of, he can still be vital to Chelsea. That just should not be the expectation for this season. Loftus-Cheek will not be the hero waiting in the wings to lead Chelsea to glory this year.
Loftus-Cheek will return to the side at some point but he is a ways off from truly returning. Hudson-Odoi has been fit for nearly two months and he is still working on things. Loftus-Cheek may take a little longer and will possibly need to redefine himself. He absolutely can and has the tools to do so, but he may have to do so differently and he may be unable to show his full abilities this season.