Ruben Loftus-Cheek learnt a thing or two from tennis player Andy Murray on how to deal with injuries as the midfielder visited him.
Both Murray and the resurgent Chelsea player Loftus-Cheek, a tennis enthusiast, have been frustrated by injuries which has been dragging back their careers.
Loftus-Cheek confirms: “I went to see Andy train and play at Surbiton in the summer. I’m a big fan of tennis.”
“We had a chat and it was good to see how he sees himself and his career and the injuries that hindered him through it. He had a big one with the hip that he still struggles with a bit so it was good to compare careers.”
In particular, a persistent back condition and a significant achilles injury sustained in May 2019 have hampered Loftus-Cheek’s growth.
The 26-year-old claimed: “The tougher thing has been the mental side to it. I’ve put a lot of work into the gym and physically to get back to how I’m feeling today.”
Chelsea is in Austria alongside Loftus-Cheek in search of a Champions League victory at Salzburg that will secure their spot in the round of 16. The knee injury that kept Kalidou Koulibaly out of Saturday’s tie with Manchester United will prevent him from playing for the Blues once more.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
Ruben Ira Loftus-Cheek, an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League team Chelsea, was born on January 23, 1996.
In Greater London’s Lewisham, Loftus-Cheek was born.
He was raised in Swanley, Kent, and went to Orchards Academy and High Firs Primary School.
Loftus-Cheek is Guyanan by birth. On his father’s side, he shares a half-sibling relationship with former professional football players Carl and Leon Cort. Joe, his younger brother, plays football on a semi-pro level.
Loftus-Cheek grew up idolizing French internationals Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane.
When Loftus-Cheek was eight years old, he joined Chelsea. He made an impression at the start of the 2011–12 campaign before suffering a hip injury.
He overcame this at the season’s end, allowing him to play as a substitute in the 2012 FA Youth Cup final.
Loftus-Cheek made nine appearances for the U-21 team and 18 for the U-18 team during the 2012–13 season. Loftus-Cheek was given a spot in Chelsea’s first team squad at the end of the season in recognition of his strong play for a postseason friendly against Manchester City in May 2013.
Loftus-Cheek played a key role in Chelsea’s U21 squad’s Under-21 Premier League victory and FA Youth Cup victory in 2013–14.
Andy Murray
Originally from Scotland, Sir Andrew Barron Murray OBE is a British professional tennis player. He was born on May 15, 1987.
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) placed him as the top player in the world for 41 weeks, and he ended the year as the top player in 2016.
In addition to making 11 major finals, Murray has won three Grand Slam singles championships—two at Wimbledon (2013 and 2016) and one at the US Open (2012).
From July 2008 through October 2017, Murray spent all but one month in the top 10, and in eight of the nine year-end rankings during that time, he never fell below No. 4.
Murray has won 14 Masters 1000 tournaments in addition to his 46 ATP singles victories.
What happened to Andy Murray?
Two significant operations, a brand-new metal hip, a “freak” groin injury, a lack of form and fitness, adverse outcomes, Covid-19, and a breakup with his long-time coach were all against him. Welcome to the world of Andy Murray!
Murray felt his career was gone at the 2019 Australian Open. Even an emotional “farewell” film was shown on the court after his five-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain.
While he sobbed in front of family, friends, fans, and the observing public, the world’s media was composing his tennis obituary.
The Scotsman originally started experiencing acute hip issues in and was previously unable to perform simple tasks like putting on his socks and shoes or walking his dogs without feeling excruciating pain.
Despite all those woes, Murray has been able to bounce back strong to finish in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Gijon Open. The 35-year-old British tennis icon lost in three sets to American Sebastian Korda on October 14, 2022.
