Ruben Loftus-Cheek rushed to hospital for emergency surgery just hours before AC Milan’s crunch clash with Napoli
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery just hours before AC Milan's defeat to Napoli on Sunday.
The England midfielder was in line to feature for the Rossoneri in their crunch Serie A clash at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
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However, that plan quickly changed when Loftus-Cheek was taken to hospital to have his appendix removed.
It comes after he felt severe abdominal pain in his stomach overnight.
It's unclear how long the 29-year-old will be ruled out for.
Loftus-Cheek had been hoping to play a key role for AC Milan against Napoli after making his comeback from injury against Como last week.
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He was even tipped to start with Yunus Musah suspended for the clash.
After returning from injury, Loftus-Cheek trained over the international break and even travelled with the team before noticing that something was wrong.
After being taken to a local hospital he was diagnosed with appendicitis.
The condition happens when the appendix becomes inflamed. It can be fatal, if left undetected and the appendix bursts.
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The 29-year-old had been out of action since mid-December with a muscle injury and was on track to start in Naples.
And Milan missed his presence having suffered a 2-1 defeat against a Napoli side chasing a second Scudetto in the space of three years.
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Antonio Conte's men went ahead inside the opening two minutes through Matteo Politano before ex-Chelsea and Manchester United forward Romelu Lukaku made it 2-0 with a scuffed finish just shy of the 20-minute mark.
Milan were much improved after the break as they missed a golden opportunity to halve the deficit just after the hour when Santiago Gimenez had a penalty saved by Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret.
The away side did pull one back on 84 minutes when Luka Jovic tapped in from close range to set up a frantic finish.
But Napoli held on to stay in touch with Serie A leaders Inter Milan, who are three points clear of them. Meanwhile, Milan ninth in the table.
Loftus-Cheek has played 22 times for AC Milan this term, but has been limited to just seven starts in all competitions due to injury.
Having moved to the San Siro for £18.5million in the summer of 2025, Loftus-Cheek has made a big impression.
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He has ten goals and three assists in 62 matches for the Italian giants.
While at Chelsea, Loftus-Cheek made 155 appearances for the first team while also winning 10 senior caps for England.
Things haven't gone to plan for AC Milan this term as they saw previous boss Paulo Fonseca get the sack in December.
He was replaced by Sergio Conceicao with the club currently five points off a European spot in the Italian top flight.
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