Vardy’s return fails to inspire Leicester

JAMIE VARDY’S return failed to inspire Leicester City to victory as they were held to a drab goalless draw by Aston Villa.

The striker made just his second appearance since December after hamstring and knee injuries in a 0-0 stalemate at the King Power Stadium.

Yet Vardy’s comeback as a second-half substitute still offers a huge boost ahead of the Foxes’ Europa Conference League semifinal first leg against Roma on Friday (3am).

That they emerged unscathed and earned a point from a bruising but forgettable encounter will be a comfort, with Jose Mourinho’s side arriving later this week.

“In the last couple of games, we played really well, but in the final third we couldn’t find the killer pass,” Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers told BBC’s Match of the Day.

“Maybe that is a lack of energy because of the number of games we’ve played – the speed of our attacking combinations is not quite as we want it. Our heart and effort is there though.”

Battling Villa, 15th in the table, had the best chances, Leon Bailey firing over and Tyrone

Mings getting a header all wrong, but they were no better than the Foxes in a tight game.

Despite the result, Villans’ boss Steven Gerrard was satisfied with the final score, a point that ends a run of four losses in a row.

“A draw is enough to satisfy me because after four defeats it is important to stop that. Our performance today was very strong, very good. We came to win but couldn’t quite do that,” he said.

“When you can’t, it is important not to lose so the clean sheet is huge.” – The Independent/ Agencies