Leicester City confirm Ndidi to undergo surgery

Leicester City manager, Brendan Rodgers, has confirmed that the Nigeria defensive midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, will now require surgical operation for his leg to return to shape.

The manager had said that the injury may likely sideline the player for about 12 weeks and he is set to miss some important matches for the club and country.

Rodgers revealed the potential injury blow in midweek and at his press conference on Friday said the worst-case scenario had been realised, with scans showing Ndidi’s abductor has come off the bone.

With the club’s first-choice defensive midfielder now out until close to Christmas, Rodgers will call upon Papy Mendy and Hamza Choudhury to fill in, and won’t delve into the transfer market, with the club’s limited resources likely to go towards signing a centre-back.

“That will take place tomorrow morning,” Rodgers said of Ndidi’s operation. “It’s unfortunate, it’s come right off the bone. He’s going to be up to 12 weeks we think.

read also:​Leicester boss Rodgers confirms Ndidi out for 12 weeks

“He’s a huge player for us. Towards the end of last season, he felt some pain there, and then he felt it during the game (against Burnley), and continued through with the amazing spirit he has. When we got the scans after the game, it didn’t show up so well.

“He will, I’m sure, make a really good recovery and then we’ll welcome him back. There’s no doubt he will be a miss.”

Rodgers added: “We have other priorities with whatever resources we have. We need to look at other positions to use that.

“We have players who are capable of stepping in. Papy Mendy, we signed him on a new contract and he has started very well. I thought Hamza Choudhury was excellent against Arsenal, he really covered the ground and defensively was very good, so we have enough cover in this moment in that position.”

There was a positive update on the injury front though, with Ricardo Pereira back out training on the grass, and not in the gym, for the first time since he underwent surgery on his cruciate ligament in March.

“He’s still a bit of time away,” said Rodgers, “but it’s great for him to be out on the field these past few days.

“We’ve seen him a lot in the gym, we’ve seen him work tirelessly in this period. I think hopefully now that he’s out on the grass, he can push forward with that rehabilitation.

“He’s still a period of four to five weeks away, but we’ll see how that recovery goes over the next number of weeks.”

The boss also confirmed that Demarai Gray would not be available for selection this weekend, with the winger absent with a stomach bug.