HOLDER YOUR HORSES, BREN Crock crisis threatens Foxes’ Cup defence Pruned Rose not bloomin’ finished
BRENDAN RODGERS admits Leicester will start their FA Cup defence with just nine fit senior players.
The Foxes boss was hit by a double blow yesterday when he revealed sidelined duo Jamie Vardy and Jonny Evans face even longer spells out than first feared.
And he said he will be forced to bolster his squad with the club’s kids for today’s clash with Watford.
Rodgers’ side rewrote the record books when they beat Chelsea to lift the trophy for the first time in the club’s history last May.
But the manager – who said postponing the tie was not an option – faces a different challenge as they start out again on the road to Wembley.
Rodgers (inset) said: “I have tried to get on with things and sometimes you are dealt these hands.
“We are disintegrated by the number of injuries to top players and we all know that at this level we need our best players available to challenge.
“But at the same time we will always create a team that will work and fight and run.
“Our bench at the weekend will all be players from the Under-23 team and some will play. So what that will look like over the coming games remains to be seen.
“There are players training with us. And they are all acquitting themselves very well.
“We are always very conscious, especially as the holders, that we maintain the integrity of the FA Cup.
“We want to ensure we give the best defence we can, or create an opportunity for us to win it again. “But that’s not been an option. We are where we are at, which is unfortunate, and we have to do our very, very best with what we have available.”
Vardy will now be out until March after suffering a hamstring problem last month, while Evans will not be back before April after undergoing surgery on a similar problem. The combination of injuries and the absence of four players at the Africa Cup of Nations has left Rodgers short up front and in central defence.
And he admits he will attempt to add to his backline this month. He said: “That’s something that the club will be working very, very hard to see what we can do.”
Rodgers insisted that he had no problem with James Maddison, Harvey Barnes, Hamza Choudhury and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall attending the PDC World Darts Championship last weekend.
The Northern Irishman said: “My thoughts are simple. It wasn’t a big deal for myself. The players had one of very few weekends off.
“And I think we have to trust the government that all the regulations around sporting events are okay.
“They didn’t need my permission to go, like they wouldn’t if they were going to a restaurant, or they were going to another sporting event.”
CLAUDIO RANIERI has confirmed axed Danny Rose will never play for Watford again but insisted: “He’s not finished.” Rose, 31, fallen from an England full-back at the 2018 World Cup to a cast-off training alone. Head coach Ranieri is likely to hand rookie has
James Morris, 20, his debut at Leicester today instead but is adamant it is a “technical” decision to release Rose after the £4m arrival of Hassane Kamara from Nice this week.
Ranieri said: “Danny is a fantastic man but if it’s the best solution for him (to move on), we are very happy to help him.
“I don’t know why it hasn’t worked out for him here but I prefer a different kind of player and I decided it was much better to change something.
“With Danny, it is a technical decision but I don’t think he is finished. Here, we need another kind of player and I prefer to buy Kamara, who likes to get forward.
“He still has high quality, one of the best that I have, but I need a left-back who can go up and down for 90 minutes.”