INJURY BLOW Barnes set for surgery
KNEE OP WILL SIDELINE STAR FOR AT LEAST SIX WEEKS
LEICESTER City were plunged further into an injury crisis with Harvey Barnes to undergo a knee operation that will keep him out for at least six weeks.
The in-form winger was stretchered off early into the second half of City’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, having chipped a bone in his knee.
It is yet another concern for City, with attacking players like James Maddison, Dennis Praet and Ayoze Perez already on the sidelines.
“It’s not good news,” said Brendan Rodgers on Barnes after the loss to the Gunners. “It looks like he will need an operation. He will be out for six weeks minimum.
“A little bit of the bone in the knee has come off so he will need that repaired. He’s had niggles with it, hence the reason why we tried to recover him on Thursday to rest him a bit and take some pressure off it.
“He had a clash of knees in the game a few weeks ago so it has been irritable. Then there was a challenge on it today that made it worse. It’s a bad one for him and a blow for us.”
Jonny Evans also requires a scan after he was substituted with a calf problem in what could be another blow to City.
Injuries played their part in City’s failure to finish in the top four last season, and Brendan Rodgers said his remaining players will “fight like hell” to prevent the same from happening this season.
The City boss added: “I think it gives them (the available players) a disappointment (to see their teammates injured).
“They all want to play with the best players. We’ve shown enough over my time here when we have that availability, the level of the game we can play to.
“When you’re playing that system with the players available, it can be different. I don’t want to go on about it too much. We hope he comes back fit and well.
“Everyone has seen the depth of our squad and they’ve fought like hell and we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to fight and look forward to this challenge.”