Frank Lampard has vowed Ruben Loftus-Cheek will realise his full potential at Chelsea, in a staunch defence of the England midfielder after “reactionary” criticism.

Loftus-Cheek has spent the last 16 months grafting back to fitness after a nasty torn Achilles, and was the brunt of heavy criticism in a patchy showing in Monday’s 3-1 Premier League win at Brighton.

Gary Neville claimed Loftus-Cheek could have wasted his chances at Chelsea, tipping the Blues to “cash in” by selling the 24-year-old.

“Ben Chilwell’s not ready for the game, Christian Pulisic is not ready for the game and is quite similar to Ben,” said Lampard.

“We hope they are training and progressing over the next week or so

“Hakim Ziyech is also not ready for the game, but Timo Werner is fit.

“Thiago’s been training with us for the last three or four days, we’re just working with him on his fitness for the moment, so Liverpool will come too soon for him.”