Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has revealed he has been hampered by a back problem for six years and he has now turned to yoga in a bid to control the injury.
Loftus-Cheek has endured a reduced role since the turn of the year as Chelsea seek to manage him through the back trouble.
He enjoyed a breakthrough campaign on loan at Crystal Palace last season before featuring in Gareth Southgate’s England squad at the World Cup in Russia.
Although Loftus-Cheek currently feels strong, he knows he cannot take his fitness for granted.
The midfielder said: ‘I can’t force anything now.
‘It’s a muscular problem. I’ve got to keep it strong, keep it loose. I have a routine now which I think will work.
‘I’ve been doing yoga. I’m not very good at it but I have to start somewhere!’
Loftus-Cheek has attempted different treatment routines before. He explained: ‘I have said before (it’s behind me) because it has felt really good and then it has come back.
‘I do have problems with my back but I am working with the physios, I think we have nailed it. Fingers crossed because I have had it since I was 17 and I have been trying to figure my body out.
It’s been a tough couple of years with it, coming at the wrong time. Hopefully we have got a routine to manage it now.’
Loftus-Cheek had earned some consistency in the team over the Christmas period but then pulled up injured in the FA Cup win over Nottingham Forest.
‘I was doing well at that point but the back problem came again. I tried to push through it but it was one of those ones where if I’d carried on, I would have done more damage. I was distraught going down the tunnel (against Forest). I knew I just had to wait to get it right.
‘As a footballer you want to be free in your mind, you want to feel physically good before you go on the pitch so you can focus. That’s when I had to make a decision with the physios, I knew I couldn’t play with it any more.’