Ahead of Fulham: Leicester City manager regrets absence of Vardy, Ndidi, Castagne
Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers, is regretting the absence of his injured valuable players in their Premier League campaign.
The City had confirmed that neither Jamie Vardy nor Wilfred Ndidi will be fit to face Fulham on Wednesday due to the state of their injury conditions.
The key Leicester City pair both missed Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Leeds, the club’s first loss in 10, but neither will have overcome their injury problems in time to provide Brendan Rodgers with a boost ahead of the trip to the capital.
Vardy is in the process of recovering from a hernia operation and could return to training later in the week. Ndidi, meanwhile, suffered a minor hamstring tear in the 1-1 draw at Everton and is not due to be back in action until next week.
After the loss to Leeds, Rodgers said it was clear his side would have benefitted from their involvement.
read also:Ndidi’s injury will take him out for 10 days – Rodgers
“I think everyone watching the game could see there were certain moments where those two players would have brought real quality for us,” Rodgers said.
“The thing we missed with the two of them was the physicality. I thought our physical players were good but I felt we needed more.
“But we have won games without them. I think it was more the case we didn’t defend as well as we would have liked and we didn’t take our opportunities.”
He added: “They won’t be fit for Wednesday. I don’t have a game to say when they will be, but Jamie’s progressing really well. Hopefully he’ll have a good week this week and we’ll take it from there.”
Brendan Rodgers has kept his powder dry this January, but there is time for that to change before transfer deadline day on Monday, with window closing at 11pm.
Rodgers has another injury concern too, with Timothy Castagne substituted in the first half against Leeds.
The Belgian left the pitch unhindered, prompting talk it could be a tactical switch for Ricardo Pereira, but Rodgers said he was withdrawn as a precaution. He will now be assessed to see if is fit to face the Cottagers.
“He felt his hamstring tighten up,” said the City boss. “He didn’t feel he could risk it, so we took him off.”
Dennis Praet, who is out until April, and Wes Morgan also remain on the sidelines.