Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri has refused to make any promises to Ruben Loftus-Cheek and has instead urged the midfielder to prove he is worth a place in the team.

“I am not able to promise anything to anybody. It’s up to him,” Sarri said.

“I usually look at training and then I decide on the team. So it’s up to him only.

“I can understand his frustration. But I have to decide.

“The problem in England is the bench. In Italy, the list for the match is 23 players. Here it is only 18. So every match I have to decide who is on the bench. Sometimes I want to have two wingers. Other times, I want to have two midfielders.

“Last week Ruben was not in the squad because it was a decision about the positions. I chose to put two wingers on the bench and only one midfielder.

“I have spoken with Ruben twice this week, after I spoke with the club. I think he will remain with us. We can speak again about his situation, but only in December.

“For me, it’s very easy. I have to look at the training and then I decide. It’s not so easy for the players in this period because we play only once a week.

“I told the players that, this month, they have to be patient. In the future, starting from September, three times we will play three games in a week, so there will be space for everybody.”