Loftus-Cheek feared Russia-scuppering surgery

Dave Tickner

Ruben Loftus-Cheek feared his ankle injury would require surgery that would almost certainly have ended his World Cup dreams.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder recently returned to action for Crystal Palace after three months out.

After returning to his parent club, Loftus-Cheek was warned that surgery might be necessary, which would have all but ended any hopes of heading to Russia this summer.

Now a strong finish to the season could see Loftus-Cheek, who made an impressive full debut in November’s 0-0 draw with Germany, on the plane.

“Of course the World Cup has been in the back of my mind,” he told the Evening Standard.

“At the start when surgery was mentioned I thought, ‘That sounds bad’. It was very scary because we did not know how long it would take and it was waiting to decide what was the best road to go down.

“I went back to Chelsea for physio and rehab. We did not know what I had done at first.

“My right ankle took a little bit of a fracture. It was either surgery or try and let it heal by itself. It was tough but I knew if I got back I could get into the World Cup squad.

“There was a period when it just did not feel like it was getting better and I was wondering how long it was going to take.

“But we made the decision that we would go with the conservative route and after a couple of weeks it did start to feel better.”