What’s going on at Leicester City as 9 senior players injured
By Will Kennedy
The player that LCFC miss the most, James Maddison has yet to play any football since he went off with a knee injury against West Ham in November. Still, it wasn’t enough to see him miss the World Cup, with the 26-year-old being named on the bench for three of England’s games.
He never made it onto the field though, coming back with a new knee issue that has seen him absent from all three of Leicester’s post-World Cup games. Maddison, worryingly, recently went to London to see a specialist and Rodgers has been coy about a return date. At the moment, he said the club are taking his recovery day-by-day, not wanting to rush him back.
It puts him out of Saturday’s FA Cup clash, and I’d be surprised if we see him back before late January. In the last three seasons, Maddison has suffered nine spells on the side-lines with frequent injuries to his knees and to his hip, missing 24 games for the Foxes. His track-record is concerning to say the least.
Whilst fans miss Maddison, the defence misses Jonny Evans. The Club Captain is the definition of a leader on the pitch and the backline has suffered in his absence. City have been without him since a mid-season friendly against Troyes in December after he left the pitch with a calf problem.
The initial prognosis was for him to only be out for a couple of weeks; however it was recently revealed that he’ll be out until at least early February. Like Maddison, Evans has a concerning recent injury record at Leicester. The 35-year-old previously missed 19 straight games and 109 days due to a hamstring issue in December 2021, returning in March. Before that, a plantar fasciitis issue saw him sat on the side-lines for the opening of the 2021-22 season.
The final two in this category are the two most recent additions to the list: KDH and Soumare. Named in the starting lineup for the Fulham game, KDH felt a pain in his glute and couldn’t play, meanwhile it was only eight minutes into the match when Soumare felt a twist in his hamstring and couldn’t continue.
Two key cogs in the base of midfield, their absences left City vulnerable as they lost 1-0 to the London side. In his recent press conference Brendan Rodgers didn’t give a return date for either midfielder, only saying that they were awaiting further assessment to see the extent of their injuries.
Rodgers didn’t suggest the issues were serious, but they’ve been ruled out for the FA Cup tie; I wouldn’t expect them back any time soon. They could be out for a few weeks, but with the way the club is going at the moment, it could end up being a similar return date to Evans.