When will injured Demarai Gray return for Leicester City and will the team be affected

Demarai Gray was injured following an innocuous seeming challenge in the League Cup at Wolverhampton Wanderers. When will he return, and how will this affect Leicester City:

It was an extremely worrying sight for Leicester City supporters: Demarai Gray lying on and banging the ground with his palm. Generally, that means a serious injury and the player’s annoyance, quite often in those seconds, is at the prospective recovery process and the length of time taken out of their short careers.

When the stretcher and oxygen is given to the stricken professional, it feels distinctly ominous: a leg/ankle break for example. Thankfully, the diagnosis was not anything like as serious as first feared. Gray’s absence should be between three-to-six-weeks.

On lcfc.com this week, the Leicester City starlet‘s problem is defined by manager Claude Puel as: “not a serious injury”.

Leicester Mercury reporter Rob Tanner initially described a “terrible” injury, saying: “It looks like a broken leg.” Many thought the same, but those in a deferential position should probably wait before describing it as “terrible”.

BBC Sport carry this quote by Puel on Gray:

"Gray faces spell on the sidelinesDemarai Gray suffered the injury against Wolves in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night and there were initial fears he had broken his leg:“He will be out of the squad for between three and six weeks, then we shall see if he can recover quick.“It’s not a serious injury, he needs rest and rehabilitation. He is not available for us for three weeks, minimum.”– Via BBC and Claude Puel"

While recuperating in hospital, the 22-year-old thanked his fans for the many messages of support via Twitter.

Will Leicester City miss Gray?

This season can be the England Under-21 international’s breakout campaign. He did not get as many chances as he wanted to under previous regimes – some say he failed to take those few – but Puel is giving him his opportunity. Gray can and will start for the King Power club again this term, as a striker and on the wing. It seems imperative he take the limelight. Potentially, the former Birmingham winger has all the talent needed to be a top-flight star.

Yet, again at the start of 2018/19, despite making progress, the forward struggled to produce the impact he and the Blue Army know he has in his ‘locker’. His introduction at half-time against Huddersfield for the on-the-day lackluster Rachid Ghezzal, quite possibly put Leicester City in the ascendancy – making the difference.

However, Puel should begin, certainly at Newcastle United, with James Maddison as the No.10 in support of Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho. If that formula works – it may be difficult for Gray to stake his claim from the bench – though, he possesses the explosiveness to do so. Although his ability and speed compliments the former counterattacking style at Leicester, arguably more than the current possession tactic.