Although this meant that Rudiger missed both stages of our Europa League semi-final and the final itself, he still contributed to that success through his four starts in the competition, and was there in Baku looking enthusiastically from the side, wearing a Chelsea shirt. and jumping with his crutches to celebrate him as ecstatic as anyone as we lifted the trophy.
After a couple of frustrating false starts, Rudiger finally returned from that problematic injury in December 2019, when Frank Lampard was in the tent. He rejoined the team and made his 100th appearance at Chelsea, scoring twice to make us win an important point against our rivals by a Leicester City in the top four, celebrated as always passionately , but sometimes strange.
He kept his place on the sidelines when football resumed after the three-month suspension from the sport in 2020. Now 27, it was clear he was maturing as a player. The outbursts of emotion greater than life remained, but now seemed more concentrated, as he deceived and encouraged his teammates as they shouted instructions, made even more evident by the absence of fans inside the stadiums.