Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has offered an update on Wilfred Ndidi, downplaying the weightiness of his injury against Everton.
The Nigerian midfielder was handed his 11th Premier League appearance of the season, albeit, he played for only 42 minutes before suffering a hamstring setback.
He was subsequently replaced in the 42nd minute by former France youth international of Senegalese descent Nampalys Mendy, to avoid infuriating the problem.
A forced change for the Foxes 🔄
— Leicester City (@LCFC) January 27, 2021
Papy Mendy comes on for Wilfred Ndidi, who has picked up a knock.#EveLei pic.twitter.com/kG11katAfQ
In his absence, the Foxes picked up a point at Goodison Park after Youri Tielemans canceled out James Rodriguez’s first-half strike in the 67th minute.
Rodgers has, however, allayed fears that Ndidi would be on the sidelines for so long as the 24-year-old is only ‘tightened up’.
“Wilf was tight, it was the back of his hamstring, so we’ll see how that goes in the next couple of days," the Northern Irish manager said after the game, per Leicester City website.
“It’s just tightened up. He doesn’t think he’s overstretched or tore it. We’ll just have to assess that. We couldn’t risk it.”
Even with this positive news, it is uncertain whether the Super Eagle would be available for Sunday’s league showdown against Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United at the King Power Stadium.
Thanks to the point picked against Carlo Ancelotti’s men, the 2015–16 English kings extended their unbeaten run to nine across all competitions.
Also, they sit in third place in the English top-flight log having accrued 39 points from 20 outings – two points below leaders Manchester City.
Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, the former Genk man has been battling with several degrees of injuries which reduced his playing time to 15 games so far.
Ndidi recently returned from a groin injury – a setback suffered in September 2020 – and as a result was out of action for over three months. Since moving to England from the Belgian elite division, the midfielder has grown into an essential part of the team.
Having impressed in his maiden season, he was named the club’s best young talent in 2016-17. He retained the prize the next season, beating Ben Chilwell and Demarai Gray.
On the international scene, he remains a key member of Gernot Rohr’s squad since his debut in 2015.