Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has nothing short of a full blown injury crisis on his hands for the final two matches of the season.
The Foxes will be sans key midfielder James Maddison (hip) and defenders Ben Chilwell (thigh) and Christian Fuchs (groin) when they travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and again when they host Manchester United in the finale. Marc Albrighton (hip) is also a doubt.
“James and Ben won’t play for the rest of the season, and Marc is doubtful for the weekend but may be available for Manchester United,” Rodgers said at an online news conference today.
“Christian won’t be involved now for the rest of the season. He could be actually 12-14 weeks out. It was in and around his groin. We’ve got a few injuries, we’ve just been unfortunate. So that’s where we’re at,” Rodgers said.
The trio missed yesterday’s win over Sheffield United while Ricardo Pereira remains sidelined with injury. Elsewhere, central defender Caglar Soyuncu is suspended for the final pair of matches. So Rodgers, whose team once looked like an absolute lock to qualify for UEFA Champions League, will have some selection issues to contend with as he leads the team in a final push
As for Spurs, Dele Alli is ruled out while Eric Dier completes his suspension here.
“Dele is not ready,” said manager Jose Mourinho in his pre-match press conference after training on Friday. “I think he can be ready for the last match.”
Also Tanguy Ndombele is out with a knee injury sustained in training on Monday. Said Mourinho after the win over Newcastle: “his injury will keep him out for the next two matches.”
Tottenham Hotspur vs Leicester City FYIs
Kickoff: Sun July 19, 8pm BST, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Park
Starting XI Predictions: go to this link
TV: NBSCN, Telemundo
Odds: Leicester City +225 Draw +230 Tottenham Hotspur +125
Form Guide: Leicester City LWDLW Tottenham Hotspur LWDWW
Records, Position: Leicester 36-18-8, 62, 4th Tottenham Hotspur 36-15-10, 55, 7th
Prediction: Tottenham 1, Leicester 1
Well, Mourinho did say that his former club, Manchester United deserve to be in the Champions League running, despite being very lucky. I guess he can do a solid for them by getting a result of some sort here.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
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