Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard, has defended Ruben Loftus-Cheek following his poor display against Brighton on Monday night.
The 24-year-old made only his third start in 2020 and played in a more advanced role ahead of Jorginho and N’Golo Kante in midfield.
However, Loftus-Cheek was taken off and replaced by Ross Barkley in the 61st minute, having failed to make an impact.
The England midfielder has been out of actions for 13 months after suffering an Achilles injury in May 2019.
He was criticized by Sky Sports pundits, Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher after the match, with Neville describing his performance as ‘really disappointing’.
But Lampard insists Loftus-Cheek needs to be given more playing time following his return from injury.
“With Ruben obviously he’s been out for a long time, even his return to play was pretty broken by lockdown and the restart when he was just about to play some games,” Lampard said after the game.
“We certainly have to give Ruben a bit of time on those fronts.
“It was interesting for me to see Ruben in that No.10 position today. He can certainly give us lots in those areas.”
