Leicester City injury latest as manager delivers Ricardo Pereira update ahead of Man United clash
Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has been talking about the fitness of his Leicester City squad as he prepares for the visit of former club Manchester United
Ricardo Pereira came through his first appearance in four months unscathed to give Ruud van Nistelrooy an almost fully-fit squad to choose from against Manchester United.
Ricardo played the final few minutes of Leicester City’s defeat to Chelsea last week, his first outing since a serious hamstring injury in November.
With Ricardo fit and no further injuries to report, van Nistelrooy confirmed at his press conference on Friday that only winger Abdul Fatawu remains unavailable.
It means once again, as at Chelsea, four senior outfield players will have to miss out on Sunday (7pm kick-off). Jannik Vestergaard, Oliver Skipp, Kasey McAteer and Odsonne Edouard were the quartet to sit out the game at Stamford Bridge.
Van Nistelrooy’s vow to stick with the 5-2-1-2 formation he introduced at Chelsea means Ricardo may struggle to get into the starting line-up, but he’s a big boost to have in the squad either way, especially as he provides a plan B.
“He’s really good,” van Nistelrooy said of the Portuguese’s fitness. “We changed the structure in the last 10 minutes to push for a goal even more. He was an inverted full-back with his role in the midfield.
“He made us play forward and created some chances and dangerous situations. It was great to have him back. He’s experienced. He’s a great professional. He’s an example for our team. It’s a great addition to have.”
Van Nistelrooy will hope that having a fully-fit squad will help City claim a result over United, who will only have had a few days to prepare after their Europa League clash with Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
City go into the game having lost their last six home league matches and having failed to score in that run.
Three Leicester City starlets named in England squads as one youngster gets set for big month
Leicester City have had a trio of young players named in England’s youth squads ahead of next week’s international break, with big games coming up for Under-17s midfielder Louis Page
Leicester City may not have any players in Thomas Tuchel’s maiden England senior squad, but they will have three of their young stars representing the country over the international break.
Both Will Alves and Ben Nelson have been selected for the Elite League squad (formerly Under-20s) as they play two matches from next week.
First up, they travel to Portugal for the latest fixture in the Euro Elite League on Friday, 21 March, and then they hop over the border into Spain for a friendly against Switzerland on Monday, 24 March.
The centre-back was out for four months following surgery on a thigh muscle but was back in action in midweek, coming on as a substitute for loan club Oxford in their 2-1 defeat to Hull.
Both players are in the Championship relegation battle, with Oxford in 20th and Alves’s Cardiff in 21st, just one point and one place outside the drop zone.
