Ranieri Gives Vardy Fitness Update

- Vardy missed Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup trip to White Hart Lane with a groin injury 

- The striker took part in a warm up on Monday but Ranieri will make a decision on his involvement closer to the game 

- The manager says he will assess the fitness those who played on Sunday in training on Tuesday 

Claudio Ranieri had some positive news for Leicester City fans regarding the fitness of top scorer Jamie Vardy ahead of Wednesday night’s Barclays Premier League trip to face Tottenham Hotspur. 

The striker, who turned 29 on Monday, sat out Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup clash at White Hart Lane as he recovered from a minor groin injury but after he came through a warm-up in training on Monday morning, Ranieri was optimistic about his chances of being fit. 

Vardy has an incredible 15 goals to his name this season, making him the Premier League’s joint top scorer alongside Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, and having him available will present a major boost for the Foxes at White Hart Lane. 

“He is getting better,” Ranieri said. “This morning he joined in the warm up with the team and then trained differently, so tomorrow I will check. I think he will be okay. 

“I don’t know exactly what the problem was. I am not a surgeon. It is a little problem he had and the procedure was small. Now he can run normally without any problem. 

“Jamie had a problem for a month, more or less, and he continued to play. Now without the problem is much better. I'll see if he starts from the beginning and if he is ready to come with me on the bench. Every time he wants to play, I know him." 

Elsewhere on the injury front, Jeffrey Schlupp remains sidelined with a hamstring injury while Matty James successfully came through two 90-minute friendly matches as part of his recovery. While there seem to be no additional knocks picked up during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Spurs in the FA Cup, Ranieri is keen to see his squad in training to assess their fitness for the league game. 

“I have to check everybody. Tomorrow we have another training session. I changed eight players [for the FA Cup] so I will check and then decide the first XI. 

“If the manager asked the players they always say they are okay but it is not always true so I want to see with my own eyes.”