Sports Loftus-Cheek looks lively on his return to Premier League action

Villa Park will always be a significant ground for Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

In April 2016 it was the scene of his first Chelsea league goal. Sunday it was where he made his long-awaited comeback.

The England midfielder returned to Chelsea’s starting line-up for the first time this season against Aston Villa over a year after rupturing his Achilles and having impressed in the Blues Project Restart preparations, including a two-goal display in the warm-up friendly against QPR.

Loftus-Cheek was as good as ready before football’s shutdown though the additional three months would have done him no harm in terms in his bid to regain full fitness.

While he has been out Chelsea got themselves into a position to secure a top four spot though Champions League football might well have been in the bag had they not been undermined by a repeated failing.

Chelsea’s repeated issues when it came to breaking down defensive sides this season left Lampard admitting he felt like a broken record whenever he bemoaned the problem pre-lockdown.

Exciting signings Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner will give Chelsea more cutting edge but not until next year.

The hope is Loftus-Cheek can get back up to full speed and help more immediately.

On his return the talented 24 year-old got a close-up look at the sort of troubles Chelsea have been facing as Villa sat deep and the Blues toiled despite dominating.

It wasn’t until a double change from Lampard in the 55th minute that the game turned in Chelsea’s favour.

Loftus-Cheek was one of the players to make way and the man who replaced him, a more natural wide player Christian Pulisic, opened the scoring.

Though Chelsea’s difficulties before that and how the game turned around were not a total reflection of his comeback contribution.

Firstly, it would have been unrealistic to expect Loftus-Cheek to hit the ground running after so long out.

And that Chelsea struggled to find a breakthrough was not for a want of trying on Loftus-Cheek’s part.

He was one of Chelsea’s most involved players as they probed in the first half, his determination to get on the ball understandable having not played for so long.

Loftus-Cheek started in a left-sided attacking role though repeatedly drifted into the central areas that are more natural to him to provide support for Olivier Giroud. Twice he went close, at the start and end of the first half.

Lampard deemed just under an hour enough for Loftus-Cheek and then watched Pulisic level almost straight away as the options he has at his disposal, even before Ziyech and Werner join, were underlined.

Pulisic’s impact would have pleased Lampard and so too, after so long on the sidelines, will seeing Loftus-Cheek come through his return unscathed.