LEICESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: Mads Hermansen of Leicester in action during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at The King Power Stadium on August 19, 2024 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
“Clever” £75k-p/w Leicester mainstay set to miss multiple games with injury.
Looking to extend their impressive run under Ruud van Nistelrooy to three games without defeat, Leicester City will have to do so without one of their most important players against Newcastle United and beyond.
Leicester injury news
When the Foxes parted ways with Steve Cooper even after they found themselves sitting outside the Premier League relegation zone courtesy of a solid start, it came as quite the shock. The former Nottingham Forest boss had been in charge for just a matter of months and, on the results front, was yet to really put a significant foot wrong. Yet still, he was shown the door.
As it turns out, however, Leicester simply couldn’t resist the chance to appoint Van Nistelrooy, who had just left a positive – albeit short – interim spell in charge of Manchester United and looking for his next permanent role. The Foxes took the ultimate risk by swapping the experienced for a manager with fresh ideas and have so far, to their credit, reaped the rewards with victory over West Ham followed by a dramatic comeback against Brighton & Hove Albion.
If the impressive new manager wants his side’s recent run to continue, however, then he will have to find a way to replace one of his mainstays. As confirmed by Van Nistelrooy, Leicester are set to be without Wilfred Ndidi against Newcastle this weekend and the midfielder could yet miss multiple games with a hamstring problem.
The Leicester boss told reporters as relayed by The Shields Gazette: “Correct, he has a hamstring injury so he’s not available. We’ll see how he reacts, but it seems like it will at least be a couple of weeks.”
In a frustrating blow, the Foxes will now be without their £75,000-a-week star for this weekend at the very least.
Games that “clever” Ndidi could miss
As well as Newcastle this weekend, Ndidi could also be sidelined for Leicester’s crucial relegation six-pointer against fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers next weekend, before potentially making his return on Boxing Day for the Foxes’ tough trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool should Van Nistelrooy’s two-week verdict prove to be correct.
Wilfred-Ndidi-Leicester
Ndidi’s injury comes just after he found himself at the centre of praise from former Leicester boss Mike Stowell, who told BBC Radio Leicester, as relayed by Afrik-Foot NG: “I have always known (Wilfred Ndidi) as a number six because of his defensive attributes. But he is also dogged and will go all day long and put his body on the line.
“He is very clever with his challenges and those long legs of his just give him range. “His discipline and timing of things with Jamie Vardy was brilliant. Vardy was orchestrating and pointing [to where he wanted to receive the ball].
“Wilf was just doing Vards’ running for him because Vards is clever enough to tell him when to go and run to press a ball. He won the ball back so many times against Palace, which really put us on the front foot and in behind. So, without a shadow of a doubt, he was man of the match.”
