AC Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is hard at work trying to recover from injury and make himself available for our upcoming encounter with Udinese.
The 27-year-old has missed our last five games across all competitions with a muscle injury, and his absence has been a blow for Stefano Pioli given his impact in our midfield since his arrival this past summer.
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Loftus-Cheek has one goal and two assists in eight appearances for Milan thus far, but with his physicality, athleticism and energy, he has been a vital presence in the heart of the side.
While Yunus Musah has impressed in his place, there is clearly still improvements to be made in midfield, and getting the England international back available in the squad will be a welcome sight.
As seen in the image below, Loftus-Cheek took to social media to post an update as he has reported back to Milanello to continue his recovery work despite being granted two days off to rest by the club.
It’s added by Antonio Vitiello that the target is for him to return against Udinese on Saturday night, and so it’s hoped that he can indeed recover in time to feature.
The expectation is that if he does, he’ll likely only be fit enough for the bench, but it will be important for him to get minutes and get his match fitness and sharpness back as soon as possible, ahead of a crucial run of fixtures as Milan look to put a poor run behind us and get back on track.
It will be interesting to see what Pioli does in terms of the midfield reshuffle when Loftus-Cheek is back, as there could be an argument in favour of shifting Musah across into a more central and deeper role where he can utilise his tenacity and energy to get us a foothold in games.
That in turn will free up Loftus-Cheek and Tijjani Reinjders to go box-to-box and add an attacking threat to our play through the middle, but time will tell if that’s the route the Milan boss goes as he looks for solutions following a three-game winless streak across all competitions.
Loftus-Cheek a Milanello (nonostante i due giorni di riposo concessi alla squadra). Obiettivo rientrare con l'Udinese pic.twitter.com/gCiUg2tXuL
— Antonio Vitiello (@AntoVitiello) October 30, 2023