Rodgers: Ndidi Out For The Season
- Wilfred Ndidi will miss the rest of the 2021/22 campaign, manager Brendan Rodgers says
- The midfielder has had surgery on a knee injury after being forced off against Rennes
- Jonny Evans could make a return, while Luke Thomas and Jamie Vardy will miss Saturday’s match
The Nigeria international came off during City’s second leg clash with Rennes in the UEFA Europa Conference League in mid-March, and has since had surgery.
Rodgers revealed he will not feature again in 2021/22, however the Foxes will be boosted by the news that centre-back Jonny Evans (hamstring) is nearing a return after featuring for Northern Ireland over the international break.
Rodgers said: “Wilfred Ndidi unfortunately will be out for the season, it’s a shame for us but he’ll get ready for next season. It’s unfortunate. He’s been a brilliant player for me in my time here. He picked up a nasty injury that he's had to have surgery on and he’ll recover now until June.
"On the other side, Papy Mendy has come in and done great, and been very unfortunate. We thought he was leaving in the summer, he wasn't in the squad, and didn't hardly play virtually for the first half of the season, apart from international games.
"He's done great for Senegal, he's come back, but he's always been a brilliant professional, so we gain a player in him and he's done very, very well since he's come back into the squad.
“The players are starting to come back now which is great. Jonny Evans will be available, whether he plays the whole game, or not, or starts or comes off the bench we’ll see.
“It’s great to have him back, he had 60 plus minutes for the international team and looks very, very good, so we’ll have to build him up. Wesley Fofana will be back involved as well. We’re starting to get players back.
“Jonny Evans is a player who’s been a huge influence in my time here. He’s a player that’s played at the very top level of his game through his career. He has the view of the very highest level, and not only that, he practices that every day.
“His standards every day are top level, so his influence in the team is huge, so to have him back, even though he's not 100 per cent match fit yet, we'll work him through that through to the end of the season. It's a big plus to have him available, as well as Wesley and the other guys.
The City manager, however, says Leicester will be without both Luke Thomas (hamstring) and Jamie Vardy (knee) for Saturday’s trip to Old Trafford, but Marc Albrighton (groin) is available for selection.
“Luke Thomas picked up an injury with England Under-21s so he’s doubt for the weekend, but other than that, it will be the same squad,” he said.
"He’ll struggle or the weekend. It was initially his hamstring. They had a look at it with England and figured he wouldn’t be ready for the second game. He came back and he’ll continue his rehab here.
“We’ll see [about Vardy], day by day really. He’s not ready for weekend, but we’ll assess it over the next week to two weeks.”