Leicester City vs Chelsea injury news as six could miss out with serious knee injury confirmed
by Kieran King · football.londonLeicester boss Steve Cooper has revealed that Abdul Fatawu will miss Saturday's game against Chelsea after suffering a serious knee injury. The 20-year-old, who starred under Enzo Maresca at the King Power Stadium last season, has assisted three times in 13 appearances this term.
However, Fatawu has now been ruled out for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, missing this weekend's clash with Maresca's Chelsea and the reverse fixture in March. The former Sporting CP winger injured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament while on international duty with Ghana and has undergone surgery.
Cooper said in his pre-match press conference: "It’s not good, it’s a serious injury. He’s had an ACL injury which is going to rule him out for the rest of the season. It’s a real blow, first and foremost for him.
"He’s a young player and having an ACL injury can be quite common, it’s part of football, but it’s still a serious injury. For it to happen at a young age is a blow for him and a blow for us.
"We’ve very much now got to support him in every way we can to make sure his rehab is as smooth and as productive as possible. We hope he can come back a stronger player and person."
Elsewhere, there was better news concerning other players, including Jordan Ayew and Patson Daka. Ayew's condition is not as bad as first feared after suffering a knee injury, while Daka is in contention to make his first appearance of the season having recovered from a serious ankle problem.
Jamie Vardy has trained this week but might not be risked, while Bobby De-Cordova Reid is facing a race against time to be fit after not fully recovered from a cut on his Achilles.
"Patson's back in training," Cooper added. "He's available. Jamie has been back training with the group, but slightly modified, so we’ll see where he is for the weekend. Jordan has come back injured from international duty.
"It’s not a serious injury contrary to some reports. The hope is he may be available for the weekend but we're a little bit inconclusive on that for the minute. [De Cordova-Reid] has been on the training pitch. He's had a cut in the [Manchester] United League Cup game.
"It was in an awkward position above the Achilles. It's been a bit stop-start for him so it's been frustrating. He trained with us yesterday so the hope is that the cut hasn't opened up again but it has been frustrating for him."
Jakub Stolarcyzk and Ricardo Pereira remain out.
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