England Under-21s dealt huge injury blow as Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is ruled out of Euro 2017

England's preparations for Euro 2017 have been dealt a huge blow after Ruben Loftus-Cheek was ruled out of the tournament.

The Chelsea midfielder was not included in the 23-man squad England submitted for the Under-21 European Championships on Monday and has left head coach Aidy Boothroyd without another of his top performers.

Also failing to make the cut for fitness reasons are the uncapped pair of Patrick Roberts, who spent last season on loan at Celtic from Manchester City, and Izzy Brown, the Huddersfield Town loanee.

England Under-21s were handed a big injury blow as Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been ruled out

Loftus-Cheek was Man of the Match in the Under-21s' last competitive fixture against Denmark

But coach Aidy Boothroyd will now be without his star player after naming his 23-man squad

Boothroyd had hoped to include Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford in his squad for the tournament in Poland but he was elevated into the senior group for the games against Scotland and France.