How many games injured Jamie Vardy may miss for Leicester

According to reports, the Foxes’ striker - who suffered an injury during the Villarreal pre-season fixture - will be out for a couple of weeks after the commencement of the Premier League campaign. With survival the aim, losing Vardy is a massive blow. Leicester will need to focus on Patson Daka and Tom Cannon to help them survive the first set of games.

Which games Leicester City's Jamie Vardy could miss

If two weeks from the commencement of the season is correct, then that means the King Power side will lose the player for three matches. Those would be: Tottenham Hotspur’s at home, Fulham away, and Aston Villa at home. These are three critical fixtures.

The veteran striker is a huge blow for the Foxes’ opening chances. We already know Vardy is one of the best strikers in both clinical finishing as well as providing opportunities for other players to get shots off on goal. His off the ball movement pulls defenders out of shape, while his on-the-ball movement creates space for the Englishman to get a shot off. None of our other options have the same devastating impact up front for the East Midland’s side.

Obviously we know that Steve Cooper is looking for a new forward to join the Premier League squad, but without clarity on that, we will have to work on the basis they will be working with what they have. Cooper will have to play Daka, and just Daka. The Zambian will have little real competition, as well as having all the pressure of leading our return to the Premier League.

Against Tottenham, where they have brilliant defenders, a compact defensive shape, and pacy midfielders, the qualities of Vardy will be severely missed. The Zambian striker is not bad in any way, but when against opposition as strong as that on our first game back, we could struggle to break down the defence and get shots off. At the end of the day, we can expect Cooper to switch to a heavily counter-based strategy.

Fulham are a balanced side, although the easiest of the opening three. As such, this is the game where despite Vardy’s absence we could get points. However, with the legend, we could have definitely got at least a draw. Again, relying on one overly pressured player will harm our ability to draw this balanced midfield out of position.

Finally, against Aston Villa, where their centre-backs are slower, Vardy’s explosive pace matched with Stephy Mavididi’s creativeness and Abdul Fatawu’s technical excellence would have given the King Power side a good chance. Without, the experience and top-tier excellence of the Villans will shine through and again stand a very tough opposition for Leicester City. As a result, I would say one point is all the Foxes could expect, obviously six would be the best in my opinion with a signing.