Thursday’s briefing: Ruben Loftus-Cheek hoping for England chance in qualifier | OneFootball

England are gearing up for their World Cup qualifier at home to Andorra, while Wales have a much trickier test in Kazakhstan on an artificial pitch.

Closer to home Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has made a big call for his Champions League plans.

Loftus-Cheek over his injury ordeal

Ruben Loftus-Cheek says he is now at “peace with the past” after his serious Achilles injury threatened to derail his career.

The AC Milan midfielder is back in the England squad for the first time since March 2019 after a late call-up for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.

The 29-year-old was a big part of Sir Gareth Southgate’s squad when he ruptured his Achilles in a post-season charity match for Chelsea in the summer of 2019.

“Stuff was playing in my mind about why it happened at such a good point in my career,” he said.

“It did take a while to process, to get those feelings out. Mentally, you’re a lot more experienced and calmer in the head and at peace with the past and looking to the future.”

Rodon blow for Wales boss Bellamy

Craig Bellamy says Wales can cope with a raft of absentees for their World Cup qualifier in Kazakhstan after key defender Joe Rodon joined the list of withdrawals.

Leeds centre-back Rodon played the full 90 minutes of the 0-0 Premier League draw against Newcastle on Saturday but did not make the 3,000-mile trip to Astana due to concussion protocols.

Ethan Ampadu, Connor Roberts, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Ward, Nathan Broadhead, Jay Dasilva are also absent.

“It (injuries) has happened since I’ve been manager and, honestly, it was in the Nations League (last autumn),” Bellamy said at his pre-match press conference in Kazakhstan.

“I was using a lot of players then. Why was I using a lot of players? Now, we’re ready for these type of scenarios.”

Chiesa fails to make the cut

Federico Chiesa has been left out of Liverpool’s Champions League squad at the expense of exciting teenaged forward Rio Ngumhoa.

The 27-year-old Italy international, a cult hero at Anfield despite his lack of playing time, missed the cut as only 17 homegrown players are allowed on the list.

With Liverpool having already signed the likes of Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Giovanni Leoni and Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer, the British record deadline-day capture of Alexander Isak proved decisive for Chiesa.

That is because head coach Arne Slot opted to name Ngumhoa, who only turned 17 on Friday, after the teenager impressed in pre-season and came off the bench to score a late winner at Newcastle on his Premier League debut.

No FA appeal over Paqueta case

The Football Association has said it will not appeal against an independent commission’s decision to clear West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta of four spot-fixing charges.

Sanctions in relation to two charges which were found proven – relating to an alleged failure to co-operate with the FA investigation – will be decided by the commission at the earliest opportunity, the FA said.

“The FA is committed to ensuring that the integrity of football is maintained, and full and thorough investigations will always be conducted into serious allegations of rule breaches,” said a statement.

It had been alleged Paqueta deliberately attempted to receive a card in four Premier League games between November 2022 and August 2023, but the charges were found not proven.

Wales are in Astana to face Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier on an artificial pitch, while Northern Ireland have the considerably shorter trip to Luxembourg.