Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek got to return due to the extended season but the recovery is not over. What questions should be asked before next season?
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was really not supposed to feature this season. Covid handed him an extension that allowed him to see the field of play more often than was expected but also not really enough to get a glimpse at the player. Next season, with Chelsea reinforcing, will be critical to Loftus-Cheek’s future. What questions need to be asked?
1. When will the old Loftus-Cheek come back?
Loftus-Cheek eventually found his way into the Chelsea side under Maurizio Sarri and he looked every bit the player that had long been promised. Then injury stole basically an entire season from him.
Achilles injuries are tough, not only because the recovery is so long but because of the lasting impacts. That long out of the game comes with its own host of issues, but the main issue is how that ankle recovers. In many cases, it may never truly recover.
Loftus-Cheek’s brief cameos this season are a poor indicator as to the player he is now. That being said, it would not be surprising at all if the injury did impact him as a player. It will be hard to tell exactly without more evidence next season and perhaps even a season after that.
Chelsea may see the old Loftus-Cheek again next season, but there is also the very real prospect that he is never the same. That does not mean he cannot be good; it just means he may have to be different. The Blues will simply have to play a waiting game to see what Loftus-Cheek has to work with.
2. How does he fit into midfield or attack now?
Sarri’s midfield at Napoli (i.e., his blueprint at Chelsea and latter Juventus) was made of one deep lying playmaker (Jorginho), one box to box style player (N’Golo Kante), and one attacking midfielder to drive in between lines. That last role was the one Sarri struggled to fill the most at Chelsea.
Mateo Kovacic was brought in to fill the spot, but he was more suited to the other two roles and lacked the goals and assists to really make the attacking role his own. Ross Barkley was better suited, but wilted under the constraints of the highly rehearsed circuits of Sarrismo. Sarri eventually found his man in Loftus-Cheek.
Loftus-Cheek did well in the role because of his ability to drive forward on the ball as well as his ability to find space off it. He was seemingly always available and as soon as the ball was his, he could drive at the opponent with few being able to stop him. A key dribble there, a perfect pass there, and he or a teammate were through.
That was before the injury. That style of play relied on explosiveness that Loftus-Cheek may not possess anymore. Frank Lampard, in Loftus-Cheek’s brief appearances this season, tried to find a solution but more work is to be done yet.
On paper, Loftus-Cheek lined up in midfield for Lampard. In practice, he stayed high as Willian came in underneath him. This saved Loftus-Cheek from having to run up and down the pitch and he performed almost like an inside forward close to goal.
That is one solution. Another solution is to bring him deeper and take advantage of his passing range which is nearly unparalleled in the squad. The draw back to this is it would put defensive duties on to Loftus-Cheek, something he never truly excelled at.
Both ideas are predicated on assuming Loftus-Cheek will not be returning to his old speed and explosiveness. Playing him higher up the pitch on the “wing” may be the best solution as he recovers/if he does not fully recover his speed. It will be interesting to see how Lampard deploys him next season.
3. Is Chelsea best suited to give him the playing time he needs to recover?
This is perhaps the most controversial thing to say about Loftus-Cheek, but it is a conversation that needs to be had. Many view Loftus-Cheek as the player he was before his injury. They believe he has an automatic spot in the starting XI. That may have been true before. It is not now.
Beyond the current players at the squad, Chelsea continues to reinforce. The battle for midfield starting spots (or even forward starting spots) will only get tighter. Loftus-Cheek was recovering this season as it is, but it would be hard to argue that he would have seen a great deal more minutes than he did when he returned to fitness.
Simply put, the only step Loftus-Cheek has left to take in his recovery is finding match fitness. Part of that is simply shaking off the rust. The other part of that is finding out the type of player he is now after his injury. Both will require him to play and play often. That simply is not close to a guarantee at Chelsea.
It will not be what many (or anyone really) wants to hear, but the best solution for Loftus-Cheek next season may be a loan. He simply has no chance of getting enough playing time with the Blues to get anywhere close to the player he was. Going out on loan, just for a season, would give him the opportunity to play his way into a new version of himself. He can then return and fight for a spot at Chelsea.
Would it be a step back? In a ways yes, but not an unprecedented one. Kurt Zouma also had to go off on loan to truly recover from injury and that took him over a year with two separate loans. Loftus-Cheek is already older and does not have that kind of time, but that is also a good reason why he can’t afford to fight for minutes at Chelsea.
A loan, while less than ideal overall, is perhaps the best way for Loftus-Cheek to move forward with his Chelsea career.
What questions do you think need to be asked about Ruben Loftus-Cheek before next season? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!