Chelsea ace Ruben Loftus-Cheek will reportedly continue his recovery from injury by featuring for the U23s next week.
The 24-year-old has yet to feature for Frank Lampard’s side this season after suffering an Achilles injury last year.
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In turn, it will have been a difficult and frustrating period for the England international, particularly given the Chelsea boss has given a number of the club’s youth products a key role in his plans this campaign.
However, the Blues could get a boost courtesy of Loftus-Cheek in the coming weeks, as the Daily Mail report that he will feature for the U23s side against Arsenal next Monday as he looks to get minutes under his belt and his match fitness back.
Should he feature as expected, that will be his second run out for the development squad in a matter of weeks, and so he will surely feel confident, along with the Chelsea medical staff, that he is nearing a return for the senior side.
The fact that Loftus-Cheek was able to come through his first outing with no setbacks during or after the game would have been a huge boost for all concerned in itself.
If he were to follow that up with another solid run out against Arsenal, that would surely suggest that he could be back in contention for Lampard sooner rather than later.
With Chelsea still just about holding onto fourth spot in the Premier League table, albeit the gap is now down to just two points, having a player like Loftus-Cheek give them a lift and another key option in midfield will surely be welcomed with open arms.
He’s bagged 12 goals and 10 assists in 72 appearances for the senior side, and he’ll be hoping to add to those tallies between now and the end of the season as he could be back just in time for the business end of the campaign.