Andy Murray has gone through his fair share of injury setbacks which makes him perhaps one of the best people for a Premier League star to speak with.
Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek has shared some insight into a conversation he had with the former world No.1 ahead of his team’s Champions League match with RB Salzburg on Tuesday. The two discussed their injury frustrations during the Laver Cup which Murray was playing at. It was the second time Loftus-Cheek has watched his compatriot play this year after attending the Surbiton tournament in May.
The football star, who had also played at Fulham and Crystal Palace on loan, represented England at the 2018 World Cup but in recent years his progress in the sport has been affected by injury. He has struggled with problems related to his back and Achilles but is now fully fit.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Murray has undergone two hip surgeries to continue his career and now plays with a metal rod inserted into his hip joint. In recent times he has also suffered more minor injury problems with his groin and abdomen.
“I went to see Andy play and train at Surbiton in the summer – I am a big tennis fan, and we had a good chat at the Laver Cup. It was good to find out how he sees himself, talk about his career the injuries that have hindered him through it – he had a big one with his hip,” Mirror Sport quoted Loftus-Cheek as saying.
“We had a good chat to compare our careers and how injuries have been a big part, but I feel good now – strong and fit. Being injury-free in the past couple of years has been a big positive for me, and I feel like I am now at a moment in my career at Chelsea where I am impacting games. It hasn’t always been like that, for various reasons, but it’s what I’ve been wanting to feel since I was 17 or 18.”
Football is a sport close to Murray’s heart. His grandfather is Roy Erskine who made 46 appearances in the Scottish Football League during the 1950s. At the age of 15 he was offered a place to train at Rangers FC’s School of Excellence but declined the offer to focus on tennis.
An Arsenal fan, the three-time Grand Slam champion recently hailed team vice-captain Granit Xhaka during an interview with watson.ch. Xhaka has played for the gunners since 2016 and has played in almost 200 Premier League matches.
“I know that Granit Xhaka is from here (Switzerland), I’m a fervent Arsenal fan. Granit has played a very good season. He scored another wonderful goal on Sunday (against Southampton).” He said.
Murray’s admiration for the midfielder was the subject of a humorous text he sent to another Swiss sporting great.
“As soon as I arrived in Basel, I wrote Roger Federer a message with the following content: “Hey Roger, I just landed in the city of one of the greatest athletes of all time: Granit Xhaka.” He revelled.
Murray will play Roman Safiullin in the first round of the Swiss Indoors on Tuesday.
