Ruben Loftus-Cheek says he is now at “peace with the past” after his serious Achilles injury threatened to derail his career.
The AC Milan midfielder is back in the England squad for the first time since March 2019 after getting a late call-up for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
The now 29-year-old was a big part of the national squad under Sir Gareth Southgate when he ruptured his Achilles in a post-season charity match for Chelsea against New England Revolution in the summer of 2019.
It happened a week before the Europa League final and he was out of action for a year. But it was not until Thomas Tuchel came to Stamford Bridge that he regained his best form.
The timing of the injury – and in the meaningless game it happened – left Loftus-Cheek soul-searching, but he is now looking to the future, which could involve a trip to the World Cup next summer.
“At the time, I was feeling good,” Loftus-Cheek, who joined Milan in 2023, said. “We had a European final in a week and a half or two weeks in a competition that I played in all the way through.
“So it was very strange because I was feeling so good. So that stuff was playing in my mind about why it happened, why it happened at such a good point in my career.
“But I think you have to say to yourself: ‘Go on, get over that quite quickly, it’s not going to help thinking like that’. And you get to work on the rehab.
“But it did take a while to process, to get those feelings out. You feel down for a period and then you tell yourself to get on with it.
“Now, I’ve got a lot more experience. Mentally, you’re a lot more experienced and calmer in the head and at peace with the past and looking to the future.”
Loftus-Cheek, who was part of Southgate’s 2018 World Cup squad, had to watch from the sofa as England went on to successive European Championship finals.
He said he had to “forget about” his international career over the past six years, having not played since winning his 10th cap in a friendly over United States in November 2018.
“Of course, being away from the squad for so long, you get used to not going, even though you still want to play well and push in the club football, hoping of maybe getting a sniff,” he added.
“But I just had to forget about it and became a fan for the England games.
“I watched the finals at home with my family. It’s almost more nerve-wracking watching it on telly than playing in these games for England so I hope I’m not watching another one.”
