Ruben Loftus-Cheek may yet be able to force his way into England's 2022 World Cup squad with less than two weeks to go before the Premier League breaks up for the tournament.
The 26-year-old has been integral to Chelsea this season under both Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel and has started 10 of the 12 league games. His versatility across midfield and at wingback have made him a late runner to be included in Gareth Southgate's squad for the tournament.
He has already played in more than half of the minutes he achieved in the entirety of last season and has remained injury free in the opening months of the campaign despite previous blows hampering his progress as a player.
READ MORE : Graham Potter handed double Chelsea injury blow ahead of Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal
Southgate himself gave Loftus-Cheek his Three Lions debut in 2017 during his impressive loan season at Crystal Palace, but the Cobham graduate hasn't been included in an international squad since a long-term injury in the summer of 2018 set him back. He did make the Russia 2018 World Cup squad and started three matches at the tournament but played no part in the knockout stages.
His return to form at club level for Chelsea has seen him elevated into the spotlight once more though, and he will be in contention to make the finalised 26-man squad that travels to the tournament with a decision being announced on that by November 14th.
The boost for Loftus-Cheek comes as he is included in a huge 55-man shortlist squad, which will be trimmed down first. The Athletic report that a preliminary squad has the midfielder in it, with Reece James also a possible inclusion despite his knee injury keeping him out of action until December.
Chelsea have four more fixtures before the official squad has to be submitted, but reports indicate that Southgate may announce his on November 10th, two days before Chelsea's last match before the break, away to Newcastle.
With tomorrow's (November 2nd) game against Dinamo Zagreb a dead rubber for Potter, Loftus-Cheek may not be used to prepare for an important league game against Arsenal on Sunday. The midfielder has already expressed his desire to play for his country at a major tournament again, saying: "It would be amazing. It would mean a lot.
"Going into the 2018 World Cup, you see your trajectory go upwards and to be at the next World Cup if everything goes well. A lot has happened in that time, and I am just happy and grateful that I am fit and healthy and playing football now consistently.
"If I go to the World Cup, it would mean the world — but that is not at the forefront of my mind now. It would be selfish to think about my personal aspirations rather than the club at the moment."
Those personal impacts also aren't being taken into consideration by Potter, who expressed his thoughts on Raheem Sterling's form, saying, "I've not thought about that, to be honest, in terms of the World Cup.
"Every player has times in a season where it isn't necessarily going for them as well as they'd like it to. Again, as I've mentioned before, it's too easy to zoom into the individual, and you've got to look at the team and see how the team is functioning and how the team can help whatever player you mention. That's what we've tried to do. You have to try to help the team improve, and then the individuals within it can do better."
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