Crystal Palace midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be out for several months, after Roy Hodgson said his ankle injury is worse than first thought, and may require surgery.
The 21-year old Chelsea-loanee midfielder has not featured since December 28 due to what was originally thought to be a minor injury. However, Hodgson has now said that Loftus-Cheek could be a doubt for this summer’s World Cup.
Hodgson said;
The injury is more severe than we originally thought, or perhaps hoped, it would be.
Loftus-Cheek has enjoyed an impressive start to his season-long stay at Selhurst Park, where he has begun to show the undoubted talent he has been said to have for some time.
His impressive start even earned him an England call-up in November, where he made two appearances for Gareth Southgate’s men, impressing there too.
But now, Loftus-Cheek’s hopes of making Southgate’s squad for this summer’s World Cup in Russia have been significantly hampered. Hodgson continued;
I would be very disappointed, surgery or no surgery, if he’s not playing before the end of the season.
We certainly want him to be and I would presume Chelsea would want him to be because they might like to have a player who’s going to be selected for England in their squad but there’s literally nothing we can do about it.
The only way he can make himself available for Crystal Palace or England is to be fit and at the moment that isn’t the case.
Loftus-Cheek is currently receiving medical treatment from both his parent club and his current club.
Asked whether he could be a doubt for the World Cup, which kicks off on 14 June, Hodgson replied;
I don’t know. I don’t want to go into that at the moment because we don’t know how long it would take after surgery to get him fit again.
