The England international has been out with an ankle injury and may require surgery.
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has ruled out terminating the loan of Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek despite an ankle injury having sidelined him since December.
The Eagles are only allowed to register two Premier League players on loan and also have Manchester United defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah on their books.
There is a chance that Loftus-Cheek may require surgery on a tendon problem so he may not be able to play a significant role in Palace’s relegation run-in.
Standard Sport reports that Hodgson wants to add a striker before the transfer deadline but will not sacrifice Loftus-Cheek to make room for another loan signing.
“We do not have anybody lined up we want to loan that would even encourage us to send Ruben Loftus-Cheek back,” Standard Sport quotes Hodgson as saying at his Tuesday press conference.
“Secondly, we are optimistic he might recover from this injury quicker than has initially been suggested. We want him with us at an important time of the season to help us win games to help us stay in the league. There has not been a question of us sending him back.”
Loftus-Cheek has been one of Palace’s best performers this season, starting 15 Premier League stars which is more than he had managed in three years at Chelsea.
As well as a new goalscorer, Hodgson could do with goalkeeping and defensive cover so must value the England international highly to keep him amid the fitness uncertainty.
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