Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

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Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

Midfielders Jordan James and Oliver Skipp will not be involved in Saturday’s clash with Oxford United, Manager Martí Cifuentes has confirmed.

2026-01-23T14:16+00:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

23 Jan, 2026

from LCFC Training Ground

Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

Midfielders Jordan James and Oliver Skipp will not be involved in Saturday’s clash with Oxford United, Manager Martí Cifuentes has confirmed.

Sam Stevens

2026-01-23T14:16+00:00

Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

Midfielders Jordan James and Oliver Skipp will not be involved in Saturday’s clash with Oxford United, Manager Martí Cifuentes has confirmed.

Sam Stevens

2026-01-23T14:16+00:00

Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

Midfielders Jordan James and Oliver Skipp will not be involved in Saturday’s clash with Oxford United, Manager Martí Cifuentes has confirmed.

Sam Stevens

2026-01-23T14:16+00:00

Cifuentes: James & Skipp To Miss Oxford

Midfielders Jordan James and Oliver Skipp will not be involved in Saturday’s clash with Oxford United, Manager Martí Cifuentes has confirmed.

Sam Stevens

2026-01-23T14:16+00:00

We host Oxford United at King Power Stadium on Saturday (3pm GMT kick-off)
Jordan James and Oliver Skipp are expected to miss that clash with the U’s
Both were withdrawn during the 1-1 draw at Wrexham AFC on Tuesday
Martí Cifuentes has also provided an update on Boubakary Soumaré and Harry Souttar

The Leicester City duo were substituted during Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Wrexham AFC and neither will be available for selection this weekend.

James is expected to be out for ‘some weeks’ with a hamstring issue, while Skipp is working with the Club’s medical team.

“Unfortunately, none of them will be available for the next game,” Cifuentes told the media in Seagrave on Friday afternoon, when asked about James and Skipp.

“JJ has suffered a hamstring injury that will take him out for some weeks. [On] Skippy, the medical team is working with him, but he will definitely not be ready for this game.

"It was a big disappointment to lose two key players, both of them were doing really well.

"Obviously, when we analyse the second-half performance (at Wrexham), definitely it was a big part of it, the fact that we lost two important players in the midfield. The situation we have is far from optimum."

On adjusting the challenge of losing both current starting central midfielders, the Manager explained: "We need to adjust, depending on the players available, depending on the opposition.

"Obviously we’re a bit thin in midfield. It’s always challenge. To lose, at the same time, in the same game, two important players, who were playing a lot of minutes lately, we need to adapt.

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"It’s an opportunity for the players that I’m sure will step in and do a job. We have full trust in the players that are in the XI. It’s an opportunity for them to show they deserve those minutes."

On Boubakary Soumaré, another midfielder who has recently recovered from his own fitness issue, he said: "Bouba has been training well. He’s available for selection and we’ll try to pick our best XI."

Harry Souttar, meanwhile, is working on his own recovery after encountering a setback in his return earlier this month, with a new complaint delaying his progress.

“The setback was not in the Achilles,” the Manager added, referencing his original issue. “During his recovery during the rehab to the Achilles, he had a feeling on the knee but he's doing well.

“It will take weeks. Even if, in a few weeks, hopefully he will start to join the group, it will take more time before he can compete. It's been a while since he played his last game, so we need to be patient with him."

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