Ricardo Pereira injury update as Leicester need him back

With less than one week until the transfer window closes, Leicester City desperately need further reinforcements. Whilst there are hopefully two further signings in the pipeline, players returning from injury could help inject some much-needed quality back into the side.

One such player that has been constantly injured is Portuguese full-back Ricardo Pereira. Just a couple of seasons ago the 29-year-old was one of the best right-backs in the league; unfortunately, a litany of injuries has curtailed his progress with fans wondering if he will ever recover to his former standards. FoL now look to bring the latest on Ricardo’s fitness.

The latest on Leicester City’s Ricardo Pereira

The good news for Leicester City fans is that there may be light at the end of the tunnel. After suffering a ruptured Achilles in pre-season, the Portuguese defender has been pictured in recent LCFC social media posts, indicating he is finally back in training. This has been confirmed by several other reports which suggest that his injury rehabilitation is proceeding on schedule, which is unlike the recoveries of other players such as Jonny Evans.

Brendan Rodgers also confirmed when asked in his pre-match press conference:

"“He’s (Ricardo’s) training well. It’s the early stages of him being back. It’ll be a few weeks before we think about putting him in an Under-21s. He looks very good in fairness.”"

Whilst the Portugal international is on track, as Rodgers said, it is unlikely he will be match ready for at least a few weeks since he has been out for so long. Even then, it will take a few matches after that until he is ready to play the full 90 minutes.

Furthermore, whilst LCFC are in need of his offensive talents, the last thing to do would be to rush him back and risk another injury. With such foolish risks being taken in the past with players such as Harvey Barnes, one would hope the medical team will perform due diligence before allowing players such as Ricardo to return to action.

Leicester City fans must show patience when Ricardo returns, and also be realistic that he may not return to his form from 2019/20. This is because the impact of ACL injuries can often impact explosiveness and quick changes of direction.

Given that these areas were Ricardo’s strengths, it is not unreasonable that he may have to adapt his game to his body’s new demands. Nevertheless, LCFC will hope that he can contribute to the second half of the season and prove to be a differential force as he has proved so often in the past.