Former Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been rushed to hospital in Naples after experiencing serious abdominal pains.
The 29-year-old had travelled with the rest of his AC Milan teammates ahead of their trip to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday night.
Loftus-Cheek had been expected to start for Milan against Napoli, but he fell ill in the team hotel overnight. Doctors sent him to the local hospital where it was confirmed that he was suffering with acute appendicitis.
Sky Sports Italy report that he will have emergency surgery to remove his appendix.
It's unclear how long Loftus-Cheek will be out for. The England international has endured a troubled season in Milan, having struggled with several injury issues.
He only returned from a muscle problem - which kept him out for three months - during their 2-1 win over Como earlier this month.
But Loftus-Cheek, who has been restricted to just 21 appearances across all competitions this season, is now set for another spell on the sidelines.
And at this stage, he might not feature again before the end of the campaign. Six weeks is the standard time frame for players to return from appendix surgery.
If Loftus-Cheek follows that same path, he would be back for Milan's game against Bologna on Sunday, May 11. But should the ex-Chelsea ace have a longer recovery, he might not play again this season. Milan's last Serie A fixture comes on Sunday, May 25 when they entertain Monza.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates scoring for AC Milan
Ruben Loftus-Cheek celebrates scoring for AC Milan (Image: Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images)
Loftus-Cheek joined Milan from Chelsea in June 2023 for a fee of £18.5million. He has 10 goals and three assists in 62 matches for the Italian giants, with all but one of his direct contributions coming last season.
And speaking about Loftus-Cheek last March, former Milan head coach Stefano Pioli was surprised about one aspect of his game.
"Ruben only had a few fitness issues and was playing for a while without being able to train," Pioli said at the time. "When he is in good physical shape, and finally he is now, he can make a huge impact, especially getting into the box.
“I’ll be honest, Ruben is more attacking and with more quality than I expected. He had played against us as a midfielder in the Champions League for Chelsea and was a box-to-box player, but did not seem to have this quality and physicality sufficient to be such an important player in the attacking phase."