Ruben Loftus-Cheek insists he’s good enough for England as Chelsea renaissance continues

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek sent Chelsea to the FA Cup final in front of Gareth Southgate on Sunday and declared he is still good enough for England. The midfielder’s deflected opener may have been his first goal for the Blues since 2019, but Southgate has always been a huge fan of his athleticism and ability with the ball – when fit.

A season-long Achilles problem has constantly niggled him since, however, and a couple of loan spells may have helped Loftus-Cheek physically, but were unable to heal the mental scars caused to his inner confidence.

Latterly, though, the trust shown to him by manager Thomas Tuchel seems finally to be healing those wounds. “I’ve always believed I’m good enough to play for England,” Loftus-Cheek said. “It’s just been that I’ve had to not think about it for a while.

“I didn’t feel my best, didn’t feel confident in my body. Now I feel fit. I feel strong. I feel quick. And on the ball, I’ve never second-guessed that.”

If Loftus-Cheek plays a part against Arsenal on Wednesday it will be the eighth successive first team game he has featured in. Despite making his debut way back in 2014, the 26-year-old has never played in nine consecutive games for the club.

It is a damning statistic to underline the intensity of Loftus-Cheek’s battle for fitness. Or, as he himself describes it, “the dark days”. “I always had to keep a vision, which was tough going through those times,” Loftus-Cheek said. “But I’m still here and that’s because of my mentality.

“I’ll never stop the work. It’s natural for me every day to train properly, do everything properly and I think that’s why I’m still here. It’s only injuries and the dark days.”

In giving him a run of games, Tuchel openly challenged Loftus-Cheek that is was no longer enough for him just to be “tall, good looking and fit”? Loftus-Cheek blushed: “He’s right, it’s hard when you haven’t played for a while.

“It’s hard to have the confidence to come back and just hit the ground running. It’s not easy, especially after that injury. My game was power and you lose power. Confidence comes from playing a lot, being exposed to it every week. You get confidence and it becomes second nature to do things you do on the pitch.

“That’s what I’ve not had for a lot of my career. I haven’t been confident in myself because of my body and not playing a lot so it’s hard to then just come in and dazzle. That’s the fight I’ve had all my life. I feel like when I’ve had a consistent amount of games I’ve flourished.

“I feel like the manager trusts me which gives me a lot of confidence, playing me against Real Madrid and bringing me on in the semi-final. That says a lot. I’m grateful to be in this position. Now we have to kick on.”

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