Maddison out of Euro tie
MIDFIELDER SEES SPECIALISTS ABOUT PROBLEM WHICH LED TO HIM MISSING PRE-SEASON
JAMES Maddison has been ruled out of Leicester City’s crucial Europa League clash tonight with the hip problem he sustained at Aston Villa.
Manager Brendan Rodgers has not given a timescale on the attacking midfielder’s return.
But Maddison has been to visit specialists to get to the bottom of the issue, which means he could be sidelined for more than just tonight’s game against Slavia Prague at the King Power Stadium.
Maddison missed the final few weeks of last season with the hip injury and had minor surgery to correct it in the summer.
He missed pre-season and made a slow return to the first team, not making his first Premier League start until the sixth game of the campaign, away at Arsenal.
Since then, he has hit top form, providing six goals and four assists in 12 games in 2021.
“He won’t be available for the game,” City boss Rodgers said yesterday at his press conference ahead of the clash with Slavia Prague.
“He’s in consultation with our doctor and some specialists to see where we’re at. For tomorrow night, he misses out.
“We don’t believe he needs more surgery. It’s irritable where he’s had the issue before.
“We’re just getting all of the information really.
“He went to London yesterday with Bryan (English), our club doctor, to get an opinion, and he’s down there today getting another opinion.
“We’ll collate all of the information after that.
“We’re confident he won’t need anything surgical, it’s just about getting a specialist’s opinion on it, and then we’ll then formulate a plan for his recovery and reintegration into team.”
Maddison’s injury leaves City short in attacking midfield for the immediate future, with Ayoze Perez and Dennis Praet also injured and Kelechi Iheanacho suspended after he was given a yellow card shortly after his introduction in last week’s goalless draw in the Czech capital.