Ruben Loftus-Cheek will take another step forward in his bid to return to fitness by playing for Chelsea’s under-23s on Monday.

Loftus-Cheek has been pencilled in to feature against Arsenal’s second string at Boreham Wood and build on his hour-long runout in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Brentford B last week.

That was midfielder Loftus-Cheek’s first match action since rupturing his achilles in Chelsea’s end of season friendly against New England Revolution last May.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek is near the end of his long road back to fitness after rupturing his achilles

Chelsea had originally planned to give Loftus-Cheek, 24, 45 minutes against Brentford but as he felt comfortable he continued until the hour mark and has since reported no ill-effects.

Loftus-Cheek’s progress is sure to interest both England boss Gareth Southgate ahead of this summer’s Euros as well as Chelsea, though the Blues are being cautious and determined not to rush the final part of his rehabilitation.

Loftus-Cheek returned to training with Chelsea’s under-16s before stepping things up with involvement firstly in sessions with the club’s development group and then first team since the end of January.

Loftus-Cheek has been out since May when he sustained the injury playing in club friendly

And while some of his teammates have taken advantage of Chelsea’s winter break to get away, Loftus-Cheek has remained behind in England to continue working on his fitness at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground.

Meanwhile, midfielder Billy Gilmour, 18, has been officially promoted to Chelsea’s first team and will now be a permanent part of Frank Lampard’s senior squad.

Lampard is a big fan of Gilmour, who joined Chelsea from Rangers in 2017 aged 16, and has handed him his first senior appearances this season.

Billy Gilmour has been promoted to Chelsea's first team after impressing Frank Lampard

Gilmour said: ‘It’s a massive moment for me and I’m really happy.

‘I went with the squad to Leicester and even though I wasn’t involved, the gaffer pulled me afterwards to tell me that after the winter break I’d be with the first-team permanently.

‘It’s a dream come true for me. It’s the first big step, moving into the first team dressing room at a club like Chelsea. It’s massive for me.’