MX23RW : Friday, November 8 22:11:31| >> :60:81:81:

Ruben Loftus-Cheek sidelined with "severe" ankle injury

Loftus-Cheek out with
© Offside
Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admits that Ruben Loftus-Cheek's ankle injury is worse than first feared and could even rule the England midfielder out of the World Cup.

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has revealed that Ruben Loftus-Cheek could be sidelined for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

The on-loan Chelsea midfielder has not featured since December 28 due to what was thought to be a minor injury.

Hodgson has now admitted that the damage to Loftus-Cheek's ankle is more serious than originally believed and is unsure whether the England international will be fit in time for the World Cup.

"The injury is more severe than we originally thought, or perhaps hoped, it would be," Hodgson told BBC Sport. "I would be very disappointed, surgery or no surgery, if he's not playing before the end of the season.

"We certainly want him to be and I would presume Chelsea would want him to be because they might like to have a player who's going to be selected for England in their squad but there's literally nothing we can do about it. The only way he can make himself available for Crystal Palace or England is to be fit and at the moment that isn't the case."

Asked whether Loftus-Cheek could be a doubt for the World Cup in Russia, which kicks off on June 14, Hodgson replied: "I don't know. I don't want to go into that at the moment because we don't know how long it would take after surgery to get him fit again."

The 21-year-old was handed his international debut by England boss Gareth Southgate against Germany at Wembley Stadium in November, followed by a second cap in the subsequent meeting with Brazil.

ID:316586: cacheID:316586:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2667:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Crystal Palace midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek in action during his side's Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on November 28, 2017
Read Next:
Hodgson wants loan star on permanent deal
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!