Fans will be delighted that Leicester have January transfer plans

Another full-back who is out injured, Ryan Bertrand has been missing with a knee injury since February and his return date is unclear. Even if Bertrand was match fit, his poor form keeps him out of contention and he isn’t the type of player needed to replace Justin.

This leaves Leicester with only Luke Thomas, a player that Blackwell revealed is only seen as a ‘back-up’ player rather than a week-in week-out starter, and Timothy Castagne. The Belgian has been one of the Foxes best players this season, but he will need to be rotated in order to manage his heavy workload.

Castagne has also been called up to Belgium’s World Cup squad, a deserved achievement for the right-back, but Rodgers will be keeping his fingers crossed that the defender avoids any injuries away in Qatar.

Daniel Amartey can play at right-back – he was often deployed there under Claude Puel – but he has shown his worth playing in the centre of defence; Rodgers will only use the Ghanaian as a full-back in the case of a major emergency.

For that reason, the club has prioritised a new full-back as their focus for the window, specifically a left-back. The timing of Justin’s injury means the club have ample opportunity to scout and choose their replacement.

This is what Blackwell had to say:

"I think the club believe that [full-back] is the weakest part of the starting 11, given the injuries. The recruitment team got straight to work on looking at potential targets as soon as Justin’s injury diagnosis came through."

Any replacement that does come in will be a starter rather than a younger undeveloped defender. They have their project player in Thomas, what the Foxes need right now is a dependable starter who can slot in from the minute go. If they can get the right man, it means a much more comfortable return for Ricardo.