- Leicester City boss Claude Puel provides his Foxes injury update ahead of facing Manchester United
- The fitness of Matty James and Robert Huth has improved this week, the Frenchman says
- Neither James nor Huth are quite ready to return to first team action just yet
- City welcome the Red Devils to King Power Stadium on Saturday (7:45pm kick-off)
While Saturday’s festive encounter with Manchester United will come too soon, the Frenchman says they have made further progress in training at Belvoir Drive this week.
Huth (ankle) and James (Achilles) have been sidelined for a large proportion of the 2017/18 campaign, but Puel is optimistic that their returns are just around the corner.
“We will see,” the City boss said on Friday afternoon. “For this game, they are not match fit. They have made progress and improved in the training sessions.
“Perhaps we will see them in future. [The injuries have] finished and now they are working to find an energy to play and come back into the squad. It is the last process for them to come back.”
The visit of United on Saturday will be the first of four matches in 10 days for the Foxes, something Puel says he has to navigate carefully.
“Of course, we have to try to manage this period,” he added. “We’ve got to play four games in 10 days. We play in a period of 10 games in 35 days.
“It is a crazy period but you need to anticipate and look at the training sessions, looking at the fitness of the players.
"We try to help them recover and rest to keep their performances on the pitch. I work with my staff and all the players to find a good balance about this.”