Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink has revealed that he refused to substitute Ruben Loftus-Cheek during Saturday's game against Aston Villa because he wanted the midfielder to "suffer".
The 20-year-old signalled to the bench to come off towards the end of the match with cramp, but Hiddink left him on to play an entire 90 minutes for the first time in his Premier League career.
Loftus-Cheek scored the opening goal in a 4-0 rout at Villa Park.
"He was used to being substituted after an hour," The Guardian quotes Hiddink as saying. "But we deliberately kept him on to suffer for a little bit. He needed the experience of 90 minutes.
"He had a little bit of cramp and I said 'come on, it's good for you'. Although it was not the highest tempo game, he had to experience it."
Loftus-Cheek made his senior debut for Chelsea in 2014.
Written by
Danielle Joynson
Danielle Joynson
