Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that key midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will undergo surgery to correct a groin problem and is expected to miss around 12 weeks of action, realising the club’s worst fears from earlier this week.
Ndidi suffered the injury in Leicester’s 4-2 Premier League win over Burnley last weekend. And while he was able to finish that game, the Nigerian international was absent from the squad as the Foxes faced Arsenal in the Carabao Cup a few days later.
Rodgers had already expressed his concern that it could be a lengthy layoff if surgery is required. Now, as the team prepares to face Manchester City on Sunday, word has come through that it is as serious as feared and the operation is necessary.
As suspected, the groin adductor has come away from the bone, with Rodgers earlier calling it a ‘nasty one’. With surgery now definitely needed, the boss labelled Ndidi’s upcoming absence as ‘unfortunate’ and admitted he will ‘be a miss’ for Leicester.
A 12-week layoff from now will mean a return to action shortly before Christmas. Leicester have 11 Premier League games between now and then, plus the entirety of the Europa League group stage.
The 23-year-old had actually been filling in as an emergency centre-back, but the good news is that established defender Jonny Evans is now able to return after serving a suspension and reclaim his usual place – Evans had also been carrying a thigh strain in addition to being banned.
Demarai Gray will miss Sunday’s game through non-COVID illness, while Ricardo Pereira is in the final stages of his ACL recovery but is not expected to be back for another few weeks. New loan signing Cengiz Under has not yet linked up with the squad and will starting training next week.
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Source : 90min