Leicester City suffer Nampalys Mendy injury blow

Leicester City's French midfielder Nampalys Mendy (C) receives attention on the pitch for an injury before being substituted during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on August 20, 2016. / AFP / OLI SCARFF / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Leicester City's French midfielder Nampalys Mendy (C) receives attention on the pitch for an injury before being substituted during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power Stadium in Leicester, central England on August 20, 2016. / AFP / OLI SCARFF / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) /
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On a weekend that saw Leicester City look more like their old selves, expected new star midfielder Nampalys Mendy may already be headed back to the sidelines.

Leicester City won a lot of battles this summer with the signing of new contracts for star players Wes Morgan, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez to name a few.

However, the most glaring loss of their summer was by far the £30 million sale of star midfielder N’Golo Kante.

Having been noted as the heart and soul of the Foxes midfield, his loss never felt more significant that when his old club crumbled to defeat on their opening day against Hull City.

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In an effort to supply a new face and new engine to the midfield this summer, manager Claudio Ranieri picked up one of his former AS Monaco charges in 24-year-old Nampalys Mendy.

Mendy was an integral part of Ranieri’s side that saw Monaco return from French Ligue 2 back to their top flight and was happy to play for a manager he already knew well:

"“I know the coach [Claudio Ranieri], I know his mentality and I know his philosophy. When he speaks it’s direct and clear and I like this.”"

Having spent that last three seasons with Nice in Ligue 1, Mendy has continued his impressive development and Ranieri felt he could be brought in a fill the void potentially even better than Kante did last season.

Leicester City’s French midfielder Nampalys Mendy (C) limps around the pitch after getting injured and being substituted during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power Stadium on August 20, 2016. (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Leicester City’s French midfielder Nampalys Mendy (C) limps around the pitch after getting injured and being substituted during the English Premier League football match between Leicester City and Arsenal at King Power Stadium on August 20, 2016. (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) /

Mendy made his debut for the Foxes this past weekend at the King Power Stadium against Arsenal in a 0-0 draw, but was taken off in the second half due to an injury.

In what is a good sign, Mendy seemed to be able to walk off the pitch mostly on his own, but ankle injuries tend to be more severe post injury and there is not much yet known to the extent of injury.

PhysioRoom.com still lists Mendy’s injury as just an ankle injury with no return date and Leicester will be hoping he can return to action as soon as possible after making a strong showing upon his debut.