Leicester City: Why Wesley Fofana was substituted early

After a dominating display from Leicester City yesterday, the fans of the Foxes couldn’t help but wonder why their favorite youngster was substituted early.

Last night’s game against West Bromwich Albion kicked off at 8 pm at the King Power Stadium. City managed to find the net on three separate occasions to establish an early 3-0 lead. Vardy ended his goal drought, Evans managed to score from a corner, and Iheanacho kept his momentum going.

The defensive backline comprised of three centre-backs: Wesley Fofana, Jonny Evans, and Caglar Soyuncu. It’s only the fourth game that this particular trio has started together. They have won four times and kept three clean sheets with this desirable combination.

Despite remaining 3-0 ahead, the fans were surprised when the manager, Brendan Rodgers, managed to swap Fofana by introducing Marc Albrighton into the game at the 62-minute mark. The decision worried Leicester City fans who wondered if anything was wrong with the young Frenchman at that point.

The reason for the substitution was simply because the player was currently fasting for Ramadan. The gaffer brought him off to allow the youngster to eat and drink after he went throughout the day without any of it.

During the month of Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours. In the United Kingdom, Ramadan will conclude on May 12. Till then, the manager says that he will have to protect the 20-year-old as LCFC’s next few fixtures fall, at the same time, like yesterday.

"“He’s fine. He’s [Fofana] a young player in the middle of Ramadan, so he’s not eating during the day. It’s remarkable. If you think of his performance at the weekend in an FA Cup semi-final, where he hasn’t eaten all day and then he had first taste of food with 15 minutes to go, and then the same today, with an 8pm kick-off, he’s not eaten all day or drank and he can still perform to that level.“It was just one where I thought if I could get him off then he could get some food into him on the bench, and just protect him a little bit. I’ve worked with lots of players with devotion to their faiths and for a lot of the guys it gives them strength. He’s finding an incredible strength to play continuously and train during Ramadan. He’s a special talent and a big player for us.”– Brendan Rodgers, via Daily Mail"

Wesley Fofana’s performances have been hailed as “remarkable” by the pundits and he promises to show his grit and determination despite fasting for the whole day.