Kristiansen, Souttar, Evans, Tielemans & Praet - Rodgers' Fitness Update

LCFC Men
30 Mar 2023
2 Minutes
Victor Kristiansen and Harry Souttar are in contention to appear for Leicester City soon, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

- Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has provided a fitness update
- Victor Kristiansen (ankle) and Harry Souttar (ankle) are hoping to be in contention
- Jonny Evans (hamstring) is back in training, but Youri Tielemans (ankle) has had a 'setback'
- Dennis Praet (dead leg) will be assessed before Saturday's visit to Crystal Palace  

Kristiansen has missed City's last three matches while Souttar returned from duty with Australia during the most recent international break. Both defenders have ankle injuries but are hoping to return to action sooner rather than later.

Jonny Evans (hamstring) is also back in training, although Youri Tielemans (ankle) may return to action later than previously thought. Dennis Praet, on the other hand, came back from Belgium duty with a dead-leg issue. 

The Foxes face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm GMT kick-off).

"[Kristiansen] done very well," Rodgers told the media on Thursday afternoon. "He’s trained this week so we’ll assess him finally tomorrow before the game and we’ll see where he’s at fitness wise. He’s trained this week and he’s done very well.

"It's a big thanks to Australia. [Souttar] had a slight knock on his ankle and they could have kept him there to see if he played on the Tuesday. If he did or he didn’t, it was a long way back for him to get ready, so they took the decision to look after Harry and rule him out of the game and send him back early to get the treatment.

"That's made a big difference for us. Him travelling back has allowed him to get some treatment, get working again and so hopefully he should be fine. We were really grateful to (Australia manager) Graham [Arnold] and his medical staff for allowing him to do that."

Elsewhere, Evans did not feature for Northern Ireland during the break, but Rodgers says the former Manchester United centre-back is recovering well from a hamstring complaint.

"Jonny is back in training, which is great for us," he confirmed.

Tielemans, on the other hand, has suffered a 'setback' in his recover from an ankle injury.

"Sadly he’s had a slight setback," the manager added. "He was due to train this week. He was training very well up until last Friday. He’s had a slight setback which may need some rest now.

"That is disappointing for us but we have to let the ankle settle back down and take it from there."

On Praet's condition, Rodgers explained: "He had a little bit of a dead leg but hopefully he’ll be able to train tomorrow. Everyone else (on international duty) has come back and looked good."