England: Ruben Loftus-Cheek to receive first call-up since 2018 amid Adam Wharton injury blow

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Evening Standard

·2 septembre 2025

England: Ruben Loftus-Cheek to receive first call-up since 2018 amid Adam Wharton injury blow

Loftus-Cheek is set to be reunited with his former Chelsea boss

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to receive an England call-up due to the expectation that Adam Wharton will withdraw through injury.

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Loftus-Cheek last played for England in 2018 but worked with England manager Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea and has impressed him during his time at AC Milan.

Wharton had to be substituted in the second half of Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win at Aston Villa on Sunday and Oliver Glasner said the adductor injury he had suffered would likely mean he would not report to England for this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.

The FA have not yet confirmed that Wharton will withdraw from the squad, but it is understood that his injury has made way for midfielder Loftus-Cheek’s return to the national team fold.

Previously an experienced England youth international, Loftus-Cheek won ten senior caps between 2017 and the following year, including starting the 6-1 win over Panama at the 2018 World Cup and assisting the sixth goal.

He has scored 11 times in 70 appearances for Milan since his 2023 move from Chelsea.

Tuchel handed maiden call-ups to Tottenham full-back Djed Spence and Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson when he announced his September squad last Friday.

He later explained that he sees Anderson as a No8 and Wharton more in the deep-lying No6 position.

England host Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday before travelling to Belgrade for a crunch qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday.