Frank Lampard admits injury blow for 23-year-old star

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has admitted that Ruben Loftus-Cheek has suffered a couple of injury setbacks over the past few months and this has hampered his return to training.

The 23-year-old picked up a serious Achilles injury in May this year but he was expected to return to action by December following a successful operation.

However, that has clearly not been the case and the midfielder has just begun working indoors and remains far off from making a comeback on the playing field.

Speaking in a press conference, Lampard acknowledged that the recent setbacks for the midfielder and refused to provide a suitable return date for the Blues graduate.

"Ruben has had a few setbacks over the last two months. He hasn’t had a new one but it is not flying along as much as we would want and it is not for the want of trying by everybody, including Ruben himself," he told.

Loftus-Cheek has not been missed in the centre of the park this term with N'Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic putting in a string of consistent displays under the guidance of Lampard.