In May 2019, the unthinkable happened. One of a professional footballer's worst nightmares came true. Ruben Loftus-Cheek suffered a ruptured Achilles in a friendly against New England Revolution. It was devastating for the Chelsea midfielder.
The Blues midfielder was then sidelined for 280 days in total before making his long-awaited return in February of 2020. Such a significant chunk of his career has been missed because of injury problems but that Achilles problem – to date – is by far the worst one. It's the type of injury to really have an impact on a player's career, particularly an energetic midfielder like Loftus-Cheek.
Prior to that injury, Loftus-Cheek was arguably playing the best football of his career under Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea. A regular in the team, with 40 appearances to his name during that season, the English midfielder had a great chance of starting in the Europa League final against Arsenal, which was a fortnight after he suffered the Achilles problem. It was torrid luck for Loftus-Cheek.
