Rodgers Delivers Spartak Moscow Fitness Update
- Brendan Rodgers delivered an update on his Leicester City squad on Wednesday
- The Foxes entertain Spartak Moscow in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (8pm kick-off)
- Ricardo Pereira could miss City's fourth European matchday of the 2021/22 season
- Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and James Justin have picked up a 'sickness bug'
- Ayoze Pérez is back from illness, but Marc Albrighton is 'still a few weeks away'
City welcome Spartak to Filbert Way on Thursday for an 8pm kick-off on matchday four in the Europa League, after overcoming Rui Vitória's men 4-3 in Moscow last month. After reporting a 'tightness' after Leicester's Carabao Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion, Ricardo remains a doubt.
"Ricardo has joined back in with the medical team, he’s been outside, but if he’s not ready for tomorrow, he should be ready for the weekend," Rodgers told the international media inside the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground on Wednesday afternoon.
Elsewhere, the Foxes may also see some players miss out through illness as Harvey Barnes and James Maddison recover. James Justin, who's continuing his rehabilitation from an ACL injury, has also picked up the sickness bug but was not in contention to feature on Thursday evening.
"We’ve had a few players with the sickness bug that’s going about, but we’ll just have to assess that and see where they’re at," said the Northern Irishman, who confirmed the sickness was not COVID-19-related. "If they're not available, I’d expect them to be okay for the weekend.
"It's Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and James Justin. [Justin] has been back training with the group and he wouldn’t have been available for the game anyway, but those three guys have unfortunately been down for a few days.
"They’re coming around now, but whether they’re going to be at their best level for tomorrow, we’ll have to wait and see, but if not they’ll be back ready for the weekend."
Ayoze Pérez, on the other hand, has recovered from an illness of his own, while Marc Albrighton won't be involved on Thursday after picking up an injury in the first clash in Moscow.
"Ayo is in the squad so he's fine after the bug he had," Rodgers added. "Marc’s a few weeks away. He’s out on the grass with our medical and rehabilitation team, which is good, but he's still a few weeks away."
All times GMT.