Ricardo Pereira and Harvey Barnes injury news, return dates

Leicester City has been hit with an unfortunate injury bug; shocker. Full-back Ricardo Pereira and winger Harvey Barnes will both be out for an extended amount of time due to injuries,

Pereira will be out of action for up to six months after he ruptured his Achilles. The 28-year-old was subbed off during the foxes’ 1-0 friendly victory over Sevilla. Pereira went down without being challenged which is never a good sign. He went into surgery Thursday night, making this his second major injury during his stint at City. Brendan Rodgers was upset for his fullback.

"“It’s a massive blow to him,” Rodgers said. “He was operated on last night. Such a shame as he’s been strong in pre-season.”"

This injury likely leads to Timothy Castagne being the starting right back for the season. The Belgian has also looked impressive this pre-season. Luke Thomas and Daniel Amartey are some returning players who will also look to capitalize on the opportunity. We could also see a couple of appearances from youth players Shane Flynn or Lestyn Hughes.

In what could have been an even worse scenario for Leicester fans, Barnes left the Sevilla game with an apparent injury. However, Rodgers only expects the 24-year-old to miss a couple of weeks. Like Pereira, Barnes has had multiple injuries during his time at Leicester City. He will likely be able to power through and be back in no time.

However, unlike the fullbacks, Leicester does not have much depth in the winger position. With Barnes out, East Midland’s team has Ayoze Perez and Marc Albrighton as their best options. Unless Rodgers decides to play Jame Maddison at the wing, there isn’t much for Leicester on the outside for the first couple of weeks.

This could be a golden opportunity for Rodgers to introduce some youth players into the squad. Callum Wright is one of LCFC’s youth academy players. Wright spent last season out on loan at Cheltenham. In 34 appearances he was able to score nine goals and assist four more. With the wingers being so injured and depleted right now, it would be the perfect time to play him.

Leicester City open the season this Saturday against Brentford. It will be interesting to see the starting eleven with two of its star players out with injury.