List of all covid positive, ill and injured Leicester players

A list of all covid positive, ill and injured Leicester City players, including: Jamie Vardy, Jonny Evans, Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira

Leicester suffered a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night, dashing the Foxes’ hopes of reaching the EFL Cup Semi-Finals. Following that, this is a status roundup.

Against a weakened Liverpool side, you would be forgiven at half-time for thinking that even the Foxes couldn’t throw away a two-goal lead. Unfortunately, not only did Leicester throw away a two-goal advantage and subsequently lose the penalty shootout, but they also picked up key injuries to compound the misery.

COVID-19/illness/other

Understandably, for privacy reasons, the identities of the COVID-19 affected players has not been revealed. Nevertheless, through the process of elimination, it is relatively simple to see who is missing due to illness. Firstly, some squad players are suffering from COVID-19. These are Vontae-Daley Campbell, Filip Benkovic and Hamza Choudhury. Although none of these are first-choice players, their absence further limits Brendan Rodgers’ options.

The other missing players against Liverpool were Danny Ward, Harvey Barnes and Timothy Castagne. Although there has been no official explanation for their absence, these players were likely stricken by COVID-19 since otherwise they would have been in Rodgers’ squad. Even if they have recovered by Boxing Day, they will probably not be match-fit.

Finally, Daniel Amartey’s absence will continue due to his involvement in the African Cup of Nations.

Existing injuries

There is no need to overelaborate on these long-standing injuries. James Justin has been out since February and looks to be a few weeks off due to suffering an injury setback. Wesley Fofana hopefully will return sometime in the New Year, despite the optimistic timeframes he has shared on his social media.

The final case, Jonny Evans, is less clear-cut as there were rumours he would have been fit for the match against Liverpool. Nevertheless, he won’t be rushed back if Brendan Rodgers and the medical team are sensible. Regardless, don’t be too surprised to see the Northern Irishman back in action due to dire need.

Injuries sustained during Leicester City vs Liverpool

To rub salt into the wounds of a referee-aided collapse, Leicester City also picked up several injuries to critical players.

Firstly, Ricardo Pereira was forced off in the first half after being on the end of a terrible tackle from Tyler Morton. Frankly why this challenge didn’t receive a red card is beyond me and the sense of injustice is only made worse after Liverpool’s complaints against Tottenham. According to a football injury expert on Twitter, the prognosis for Ricardo is not great. Therefore, whilst we all hope for the best, it’s unlikely he will be available for Boxing day.

Caglar Soyuncu was also forced off prematurely due to injuring his hamstring after making a superb last-ditch tackle on Roberto Firmino. In hindsight, the game turned after his exit, as Soyuncu was defending well beforehand. This latest injury raises the question of whether the Turk was rushed back too quickly, given that he suffered a recurrence of his existing issue. It’s therefore highly unlikely that Soyuncu will be playing on Boxing Day although further information hasn’t confirmed much.

Talismanic striker Jamie Vardy also suffered a hamstring problem according to Brendan Rodgers. Bizarrely, Vardy wasn’t taken off but his lack of involvement in both the closing stages and during the shootout were confirmed to be due to injury. With Patson Daka being prematurely replaced instead, it’s likely the Zambian will start at Man City rather than Vardy being risked.