‘Ready to do that’: Chelsea player says he can cover for Kovacic and Jorginho

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek has reiterated he’s ready to step up for Chelsea while teammates such as Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho are unavailable.

Thomas Tuchel’s depleted Blues squad travel to Russia on Wednesday evening to face Zenit in the Champions League group stages, with top spot still up for grabs.

Unfortunately, five senior players are absent from the midweek fixture. There are three central midfielders included on the injury list, too.

Tuchel has confirmed Jorginho misses the Zenit tie with a back problem. Mateo Kovacic is self-isolating after testing positive for Covid-19. Meanwhile, N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell and remain out with their respective injury issues.

The absence of Jorginho, Kovacic and Kante this week means there are very few options in the centre of the park.

Loftus-Cheek, who’s had opportunities lately in the XI, is one of the few central midfielders available to play.

The 25-year-old Englishman has started four of the last five consecutive matches in all competitions and has said ahead of Zenit he’s capable of covering the loss of senior players.

“Obviously I have had to be patient. There are a lot of good players at Chelsea, especially in the midfield department so a few injuries and I might be put in,” Loftus-Cheek said.

“I had to be ready, I feel like I have been ready physically. You have to step up, as a team and as an individual when players are injured and you have to do a job. But I feel like I am ready to do that.”

Loftus-Cheek at vital stage of Chelsea career

Of course, plenty of the Chelsea fanbase are delighted to see favourite Loftus-Cheek back in the mix this season with the senior squad.

There’s never been much doubting of his individual talent, but people are waiting to see if he can consistently perform like he did before a long-term injury issue.

Chelsea’s standards in the midfield are extremely high within this squad, but he’s holding his own right now.

It feels imperative that he impresses Tuchel this campaign to maintain a long-term future at Stamford Bridge.

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