Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is hoping to be back training with the first team by the end of the winter break, according to reports.

The 23-year-old has not played since rupturing his Achilles tendon last May, and he has been building up his fitness with the development squad in recent weeks.

Loftus-Cheek took part in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford B yesterday afternoon. He played 60 minutes in the 2-0 defeat and suffered no ill effects from the runout.

He will continue to build up his fitness before hopefully returning to train with Frank Lampard’s squad ahead of the game against Manchester United on February 17th. It could, however, be a number of weeks before we see him back playing in the Premier League.

Christian Pulisic is also hopeful of making his return from a groin injury for the United game. However, Lampard has confirmed that the American did have a setback in his recovery so it’s unlikely that he’ll start the clash versus the Red Devils on Monday week.

Chelsea only have one other player on the treatment table, with Marco van Ginkel still building up his fitness after a serious knee injury which has kept him out for over 18 months.