Chelsea will take on Arsenal in the Europa League final later this month and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be a miss for this crucial encounter.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had a tough first half of the season under Sarri but during the past couple of months, the England international has really shown his class for the Blues after getting regular game time.
And he was all set to take this good form into the England national team after he was named in the Three Lions squad for the Nations League final.
But now it looks like the player will be out for atleast six months after he ruptured his achilles during Chelsea’s friendly against New England Revolution.
The Blues were playing the friendly in Boston just two weeks before the Europa League final and by the end of the match, Ruben Loftus-Cheek was seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
After the friendly, Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso had indicated that the player could miss the Europa League final.
“They still don’t know but I think he has a little bit of pain, it doesn’t look very good, to be honest,” Alonso told Sky Sports.
“But fingers crossed he will be back as soon as possible. I think it’s his Achilles, he was on his own.
“We are all very sad about this, it was very important not to get any injuries in this kind of game. Hopefully, it won’t be too bad.”
And now speaking about the midfielder’s injury, Garth Southgate has made it clear that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will likely miss the first half of the 2019-20 campaign.
“We will find out more about a couple of players in that period and then I am going to have to make a couple of decisions, but we can change if we have injuries after that date. Frankly, there is every chance that is going to happen,” Southgate said.
“We have just got to make the best possible decisions really with the information that we have. It is constantly moving.
“I went to bed last night and Ruben is in the squad and playing brilliantly and now it is a huge disappointment for him. He misses now a major European final and a brilliant opportunity with us.
“In particular he has really come on in the last few months and looked strong and playing with a lot of confidence and I am really disappointed for him in particular.”
The Chelsea medical staff are fearing that the England international could be out for anywhere between six months to one year.
The absence of Ruben Loftus-Cheek will surely be a huge boost for Arsenal given the Englan international has been in fine form during the past couple of months.
And with N’Golo Kante also facing a race against time to remain fit, selecting the first XI for the final could be a serious headache for Maurizio Sarri.
