Chelsea have confirmed that midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has ruptured his Achilles and will undergo surgery on Thursday evening.
The 23-year-old suffered the injury in Chelsea’s US post-season friendly against New England Revolution on Wednesday night, a fixture that has been much criticised, given the Blues still have a Europa League final against Arsenal to come.
The injury has also ruled Loftus-Cheek out of the squad for England’s Uefa Nations League campaign next month, which was announced on Thursday afternoon.
England boss Gareth Southgate confirmed that both Loftus-Cheek and Blues teammate Callum Hudson-Odoi, who picked up a similar injury last month would have been part of his plans.
"I went to bed last night and Ruben was in the squad and playing brilliantly. It's a huge disappointment for him missing a major European final and a brilliant opportunity with us," Southgate said.
"In particular, he's really come on in the last few months and looked strong, and playing with a lot of confidence. So I'm really disappointed for him."
Before the game manager Maurizio Sarri had voiced his concerns over playing the friendly, which raised £3.1million, before the final.
Speaking after their semi-final victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, the Italian said: "We have to recover energy because we are really very tired.
"Unfortunately we have to go to the United States. I think in this moment we need to rest then we have 10 days to prepare for the final."
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