Ruben Loftus-Cheek played an important role for Chelsea during the Blues’ midweek win over Brighton in the Premier League.
But now Maurizio Sarri has made it clear that the player will miss the Monday night clash vs West Ham United.
The Hammers make the cross-town drive to take on Chelsea at the Bridge and everyone is expecting the Blues to pick up an easy win.
And while the absence of Ruben Loftus-Cheek might not be too big a concern for Sarri but it will surely be a big blow for the player personally since he has been grown in leaps and bounds during the course of this season.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was taken off during the Brighton game due to cramp and everyone expected him to be fit before the West Ham game.
But now, it looks like the England international has once again been hit with his long-standing back problem and will miss the Monday night clash.
With Ruben Loftus-Cheek out of the picture, Ross Barkley is expected to come into the picture in a like-for-like replacement.
Everyone expects Chelsea to win this game but some pundits have come out to claim that Maurizio Sarri along with all of his players could have one eye on their next fixture which in the Europa League.
And with the UEL clash coming just three days after Chelsea host West Ham, there is every possibility that the Blues might lose focus and slip up against Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
If Chelsea manage to win vs the Hammers then they have will still remain in the hunt for the top-four.
And if not then winning the Europa League might be the only way for them to get back into the top tier of Europe next campaign.
Read: West Ham predicted line up vs Chelsea.
