Foxes of Leicester
Fansided

Leicester City U-23s: Craig Shakespeare to assess returning players

By Harneet Singh Sethi

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Craig Shakespeare, manager of Leicester City gives his team instructions during the warm up prior to the Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Craig Shakespeare, manager of Leicester City gives his team instructions during the warm up prior to the Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea at The King Power Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
twitterredditfacebook

Craig Shakespeare will be watching on as the Leicester City U-23s face West Ham United at the King Power Stadium (7 p.m. kick-off).

Leicester City have a number of key players out injured, namely Robert Huth and Vicente Iborra, whereas Kelechi Iheanacho hasn’t played much either because of his toe injury.

The trio is expected to feature for the tenth-placed U-23s tonight, and Shakespeare is set to attend the game to assess if they are ready for first team action this week or not.

The boss is also keen on keeping an eye on Huddersfield Town (Vs West Ham United), who his side face this Saturday at the Kirklees Stadium. Speaking to the Leicester Mercury, he said:

"“I’ve always believed that if you get the performances right the results will come.“Huddersfield will be a tough game. They’ve had a great start, their momentum is there for all to see.“I will watch their game but we have an under-23s game here where we’ve got players on their way back and I think it’s important to be here for that.“It’s important some of those players get the minutes and when they get their opportunity, claim the shirt.”"

The boss also spoke about Shinji Okazaki, who was left out of the squad in Leicester City’s crucial encounter against Chelsea. He explained that the decision was purely down to fatigue (Okazaki flew roughly 17,000 miles with his national team) and that the Japan international should be back sooner rather than later.

"“He had done a lot of travelling.“I felt he could do with a little break. It was just tactical.”"

Craig Shakespeare would hope to have Huth, Iborra and Iheanacho back, with his side currently struggling to get going in the Premier League. Having lost two games in succession now (three overall), the Foxes can’t afford to drop more points later in the week, and his unfit set of players can surely help stop the rot.

While Robert Huth allows the ageing Wes Morgan to take some much needed rest, both Vicente Iborra and Kelechi Iheanacho bring world-class quality in their respective positions, something that City have badly missed.

Home/Leicester City News