Ruben Loftus-Cheek has just been taken off by Frank Lampard after an hour at Stamford Bridge, and as he left the pitch he applauded the fans and effectively said his goodbyes.
They returned his gesture with a grand ovation in an emotional exchange in the late May sunshine.
There will always be the sense of missed opportunity with Ruben, partly just because he often shows amazing flashes of talent, but also because of the bad injury he got just as broke into the team in his most successful year, with Maurizio Sarri in charge.
Perhaps it changed nothing, perhaps it changed everything. It’s hard to know, but it leaves a sad tinge on his career here.
His departure also creates further holes in midfield, which will need to be filled this summer. A versatile home grown player, we will do well to find anyone as good as Ruben, who is apparently off to AC Milan in the summer.
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