Rodgers' Fitness Update: Söyüncü, Ricardo, Ndidi, Morgan & Amartey
- Çağlar Söyüncü's condition is 'not as bad as first feared', says Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers
- The Turkey international was substituted in the 17th minute of Thursday's fixture at Zorya Luhansk
- Ricardo Pereira, meanwhile, has a 'slight' groin issue, which Rodgers says is 'not too serious'
- Wilfred Ndidi is 'fine' after starring for 56 minutes in Zaporizhzhia on his return from an adductor issue
Leicester City are due to visit Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United on Sunday in the Premier League following Thursday's slender 1-0 defeat at Zorya Luhansk in the UEFA Europa League.
That clash at Slavutych Arena saw Rodgers hand long-awaited returns to Söyüncü (adductor), Ricardo (ACL) and Ndidi (adductor) in nine changes to the starting XI for the already-qualified Foxes.
However, Turkey centre-back Söyüncü was forced to withdraw in the 17th minute in Zaporizhzhia, while Ricardo and Ndidi enjoyed run-outs lasting 45 and 56 minutes respectively in Ukraine.
"[Söyüncü] is not as bad as first feared," Rodgers said on Friday. "He had a little fright on the pitch because, obviously, the pitch was very, very slippy, with the conditions and everything else.
"He felt a slight pull up when he was sprinting but he’s had a scan, so we’ll just look at that this afternoon (Friday).
"He feels fine in himself, he’s done some tests and feels okay, but we’ll just need to gauge that over the next 24 hours."
Rodgers also revealed that the plan was for Ricardo to play on into the second half in Ukraine, but a 'slight' issue led to a change at the interval.
However, while City's medical team are keen not to rush the Portugal full-back, the Northern Irishman said Ricardo is in good shape, but may not feature at Bramall Lane.
"Ricky just had a slight issue," he continued, ahead of Sunday's 2:15pm kick-off at Sheffield United. "He was due to play about 75 [minutes]. We brought him off at half-time.
"Very early on in the game, he went to push off and he may have just had a slight strain in his groin area because the pitch was very slippy. We just need to assess that.
"We’re awaiting on a scan for that, but it’s nothing too serious because he played on for the remainder of the half.
"He’s been out for such a long time. He’s been progressing really, really well. He’s ahead of schedule. He’s been training with the team for a number of weeks now.
"He played in an Under-23s game and this was the next step for him and, like I said, we don’t want to rush that if there’s no need."
Ndidi, on the other hand, was impressive for Leicester throughout his time on the field of play and Daniel Amartey is also progressing well in his own recovery from a hamstring issue, Rodgers confirmed.
"It was very important," he added. "Wilf’s come through it fine, he didn’t look like he’d been away in all honesty. His physicality is very important for our team, so that was good for him to get 55 minutes.
"[We've had] some really good news as Daniel Amartey’s come back in and trained with the team today, which is great news for us.
"He’d worked so hard to come back from his injury and then he was outstanding in his games and, unfortunately, he got injured in the West Ham game.
"He’s come back really well, he looked strong in training and we’ll hopefully build him up over the next weeks as well."
Elsewhere, Club captain Morgan was also substituted in the 56th minute, although Rodgers says his issue was linked to a minor, existing issue which simply requires some recuperation.
"For Wes, it’s just been an ongoing issue that he’s had," he explained. "He’s had it over the last number of years, but of course, as you get that little bit older, it tends to stiffen up that bit quicker.
"He just needs those few days rest and recovery and then we’ll take a look at that."