Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek missed the team’s pre-season tour of the United States, and had to stay back at Cobham to train with the junior team.

Loftus-Cheek starred in his only pre-season game of the summer – the 2-0 win over Udinese, and he has said he feels good ahead of the start of the season.

“I felt good, I felt fit,” said Loftus-Cheek about the game against Udinese, which was his first for the senior team in pre-season.

“It was good to join back up with the team this week after missing the pre-season tour, but I feel good.

“Training with the Under-23s and the Under-18s was hard, with the running we had to do. It was like a basketball game at times, so maybe that benefitted me. But I feel good and it’s good for the team to get two wins going into the season.

“We’re a top team and when we move the ball it’s very difficult for teams, but they made it difficult for us at times. But, like I said, we’re happy with the wins and it’s a good end to pre-season.”