Ruben Loftus-Cheek has suffered yet another injury setback, which has been the running theme of his troubled time at AC Milan.
La Gazzetta dello Sport confirm that Milan will be without Loftus-Cheek for approximately two months. On Monday morning, the Englishman underwent surgery at Milan’s San Paolo Hospital after suffering facial trauma in a clash with Corvi in the match against Parma, resulting in a fractured jaw.
It was a violent head-on-head collision left the former Chelsea player on the ground for several minutes with blood in his mouth, before he was later stretchered off the pitch with his neck in a brace. Fortunately, he did not lose consciousness or suffer any head injuries, but Milan were left angry.
This is Loftus-Cheek’s latest injury since joining Milan nearly three years ago: from muscle problems to appendicitis, to the facial trauma (rare for a footballer) he suffered yesterday.
A long ordeal
Loftus-Cheek has had a tough time dealing with injuries since arriving in Milan in 2023. About a year ago, at the end of March, he was forced to abruptly leave the pre-Napoli training retreat due to severe abdominal pain.
The diagnosis was acute appendicitis. Immediate surgery was required and he was sidelined for about a month. In that match, the Englishman was supposed to return to the starting line-up after four months out. Youssouf Fofana played in his place, but failed to impress.
More generally, his time in Milan has been marred by various muscular problems. Last season, Loftus-Cheek played 28 games across the league and cup competitions, missing 26. In mid-December, a torn right hamstring kept him out for three months.
The only real exception remains his first season with Milan: 2023-24. He made 40 appearances in total, scoring 10 goals, and adding two assists. He missed only eight games, due to adductor problems and muscle issues.
Otherwise, RLC was almost always present, with Pioli rarely doing without his dynamism in midfield. Over the past two years, however, a certain fragility has emerged. Despite an imposing physique (over 190cm tall), the Englishman has often appeared too soft.
He has been lacking in tackling, physical duels and running in open space, which are supposed to be his strengths. It’s without doubt a clear sign of how his constant physical problems have affected his best qualities.
This season, under Max Allegri, things seemed to be going better. In September, Thomas Tuchel’s call-up to the England squad – after almost seven years of absence – seemed to portend a high-level season for Loftus-Cheek, who only sat out a couple of games in mid-October due to muscle strain.
Allegri has used his versatility, playing him as a midfielder, second striker and even as a wing-back. He has amassed three goals and one assist in 27 appearances. Max will thus have to wait a couple of months, around the end of April, to see ‘Rubes’ again.
The guy is a giant p***y. I’d be surprised if another club came in for him.
The article makes it seem as if this happens only at Milan. Sure, he had some bad luck. But RLC had been injury prone his whole career. He missed so many games at chelsea. It is the reason we got him at a discount.
Not like he’s a whole lot of help when he is fit… The writing’s on the walls with Ruben.
This dude is an average player who is injury prone. Time to move on and admit it was a wasted transfer. He was injury prone before he came here, management gambled thinking he’d turn the corner (and get value at 20m) but he never did. Apart from the first season, where even then he had muscle issues, he’s been bang average or worse