Ruben Loftus-Cheek has handed Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard a major fitness boost.
The 24-year-old played the entire 90 minutes for the Blues U23's as they overcame their Everton counterparts at the EEB Stadium in Aldershot on Monday night.
It's the first time the midfielder has managed to come through an entire game for nearly a year and puts him a step closer to making a return to senior action.
An Achilles injury sustained in a post-2018/2019 friendly cruelly ruled him out of the Europa League final win over Arsenal and Lampard hasn't rushed him back into action.
Loftus-Cheek has been training with the first-team for well over a month now and got a run out for the U23's at the beginning of February as he played 60 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford B.
Despite suffering a small setback which saw him sit out the U23's game against Arsenal, Loftus-Cheek was named on the bench for first-team games against Tottenham Hotspur and Bournemouth.
Although he didn't get on in either Premier League outing.
And it would appear the plan was for Loftus-Cheek to improve his fitness levels ahead of a potential first-team return and 90 minutes under his belt will have done him the world of good.
His outing in Aldershot certainly got fans excited and he made a classy gesture after the game was finished.
As seen in the image below, after the final whistle Loftus-Cheek made one young fan's day by stopping to pose for a photo.
Loftus-Cheek was heavily involved in some of the big moments of the game against the Everton U23's.
As the game looked to be edging towards a goalless draw, he won the penalty from which Luke McCormick smashed home to break the deadlock.
Before the final whistle, Loftus-Cheek and was on the receiving end of a strong tackle, but managed to get back up after treatment.
