Rodgers Delivers Vardy Fitness Update
- Brendan Rodgers provided a fitness update prior to Monday’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa (8pm kick-off)
- The Northern Irishman says Jamie Vardy is fit to play following a spell on the sidelines
- The striker missed City's Emirates FA Cup Fifth Round victory earlier this week
- LCFC Radio’s live coverage of the Villa match starts at 5pm on Monday
Vardy missed City's last Premier League fixture, away at Norwich City last Friday, and also sat out the Emirates FA Cup victory over Birmingham City earlier this week.
Speaking to the national media on Friday, Rodgers confirmed that the 33-year-old striker is likely to be included in some capacity following a 'low-grade calf strain'.
The Northern Irishman said: "He looked very good in training. I think the idea is that he’ll be available for Monday. We’re still on track with that.
Rodgers' Injury Update: Vardy, Chilwell & Ndidi
Brendan Rodgers gives a fitness update ahead of the Foxes' clash with Aston Villa at King Power Stadium.
"The team, collectively, the confidence is really good. It was a good performance in our last cup game on Wednesday.
"It got back to somewhere near what our intent is in games and our identity, so it was a very good result for us and we’re looking to take that form into our next game.
"We’re hoping now that some of the other measures in place behind the scenes – sports science and medically – can help him.
"He’s a very important player for us and has been for this club for a number of years and, in my time here, he’s been tremendous.
"He’s at the age now where it’s about looking after your body and hopefully you get that little bit of luck because that’s important as well, with injuries.
"Hopefully he’s clear now because him being available and ready for us in this last section of the league is very, very important, so hopefully he’ll be injury-free now."
Left-back Ben Chilwell, on the other hand, will be assessed after he 'twinged his hamstring' during Wednesday night's cup success over Birmingham on Filbert Way.
"Most are back fine," Rodgers added. "We might have to have a look at how he [Chilwell] is, but we’ll see how he is over the next few days."
Meanwhile, Rodgers hopes the return of Vardy, and midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, can help spur the Foxes on towards a strong finish to the Premier League campaign.
"Of course, they’re two fantastic players for us, but our focus is very much on the positive and going forward," he continued. "We’re sat in a fantastic position at this stage of the season.
"I think because of the level of consistency and how the players have worked and played over the course of this season, we’ve had a little bit of a blip going back for a few games.
"Like I say I got a much better feeling from the team the other night in the cup game. They were back to the intensity and the commitment and the pressure that we’ve had in games.
"I know it’s only a matter of time before we’ll go back to being consistent again, because we focus very much on being optimistic within the team.
"Our behaviours are: we’re always honest enough to go away and assess where we can be better and that naturally gives us confidence going forward.
"So, we’ll always appraise the performances, where we can be better, where we can improve, and that will always be the process for us."
All times GMT.