Chelsea's Loftus-Cheek faces lengthy spell on sidelines as he battles with back injury

Ruben Loftus-Cheek will not put on a shirt for the Blues again until he sorts out a persistent back injury.

The 22-year-old England midfielder came off the Stamford Bridge pitch in tears against Nottingham Forest in the 3-0 win in the FA Cup on Saturday as the injury flared up again.

He told Capital Football: “It's not good. I have been struggling with it for the last few weeks. I'm going to have take some proper time out to make sure it heals properly. I'm gutted.”

Chelsea face Spurs tomorrow night in the first leg of the Carabao Cup at Wembley before resuming league action on Saturday, at the Bridge against Newcastle United.

Chelsea then have matches against Arsenal and Bournemouth this month with the Spurs Carabao Cup second leg sandwiched in between.

If as expected Loftus-Cheek is out for more than a month, he will also miss matches against Huddersfield Town and Manchester City. Chelsea resume Europa Cup action against Malmo in gthe middle of February.