World Cup 2018: Ruben Loftus-Cheek reflects on his journey from Chelsea fringe player to England’s secret weapon

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek never imagined at the start of the season when he joined Crystal Palace on loan, that he might be heading to the World Cup this summer. But one game into England’s campaign, he has already made his debut, and is heading for his first start on Sunday, as England’s secret weapon.

Dele Alli’s thigh injury means Loftus-Cheek is likely to start in midfield in Nizhny Novgorod, hoping to carry on from the strong start he made from the bench on Monday night in Volgograd. That night he added ideas and tempo to a midfield which was running out of both. Able to beat opponents from a standing start, and with an eye for a clever pass, he has a rare mix of midfield gifts, athletic and technical, intimidating and nimble, which make him immediately stand out.

While Alli is a far more established player, with three brilliant seasons at Tottenham Hotspur under his belt, there is a view that his replacement could be exactly what England need on Sunday afternoon.

One of the stories of this World Cup has been the struggle of big teams to break down packed defences. And England certainly expect Panama to make their lives as difficult as possible on Sunday. “They were 0-0 at half-time,” Steve Holland said of Panama’s opener against Belgium, which they eventually lost 3-0. “They were well organised, athletic, clever, breaking up the game and stopping momentum.”

This means that England have to be both unhurried and imaginative - a difficult combination - to find their way through. It has not always come easily to them. Remember Iceland at Euro 2016, or the Slovakia 0-0 just days before that. But Holland trusts that they will be able to do it. “The majority of our players are from clubs in the top six and are used to playing against teams with good defensive organisation,” he said on Tuesday. “The challenge is to move the ball quickly, to be patient and to try and wait for gaps, and when gaps appear to try to be clinical.”

This is where Loftus-Cheek comes in. As good as Alli has been recently, much of his game is based around speed off the ball. Those clever runs to the far post to get onto the end of a cross. Popping up where the ball is about to bounce. Or quick transitions, bursting forward with the ball, as part of a break.

But there is a view that Loftus-Cheek could be the perfect man for the game that England will have to play on Sunday. Because his close control is even better than Alli’s, and he has long been identified in the coaching community as one of the most complete talents English football has ever produced. Even in the constricted space between the Panama lines he will still be able to pick up the ball, turn, carry it under pressure or create something. That close control in small space, allied to his big frame, has earned comparisons with Mousa Dembele.

For Loftus-Cheek to play for England on Sunday would both be the fulfillment of years of promise, while also feeling like it has come round very quickly. Still just 22, he has been earmarked for greatness for years and admitted after the Tunisia game the pressure that entails.

“Ever since I was in the Chelsea academy, I’ve had that awareness that people were saying I would be the first one to breakthrough since JT,” he said. “I believed I could, but the opportunities didn’t quite come for me. It’s hard to keep training at your best, but I made sure I did for when the time comes for when I did get opportunities like Palace.”

After a few brief tries in the Chelsea first team, under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, it was only at Roy Hodgson’s Palace this year that he became an established senior player. It means that he still feels back problems at time as he adjusts, but he is improving there too.

“I’m getting more confident the more I play,” he said. “I had that period at Palace in December time where we had loads of games and I played and got through that well. In that sense I was getting confident the more I play. I still get back problems, I know I look big and strong but it’s still hard on my body. I’m working on that a lot and it’s getting better.”

But Southgate has always like Loftus-Cheek, from his time as Under-21 manager, and as soon as he was established at Palace, Southgate wanted to bring him in. When he made his debut against Germany in November he was excellent, but he was not surprised. “I had that belief before, If I hadn’t then I wouldn’t have done so well against Germany,” he said. “I like playing on the big stage.” Now he is facing the biggest game of his life.