Enzo Maresca provides an update on his squad’s fitness following a midweek trip to Sunderland and ahead of the meeting with Hull. Jamie Vardy has not trained with the Leicester City squad since the victory over Sunderland, making him a doubt to lead the line against Hull.
Vardy replaced Patson Daka up front in City’s 1-0 victory over the Black Cats, and he scored the winning goal by heading in a rebound from a corner. He played 78 minutes at the Stadium of Light before being replaced, but hasn’t practiced since.
He may still play in City’s final session before facing the play-off-chasing Tigers on Saturday afternoon, but his lack of action at Seagrave puts him a question for the starting lineup. Enzo Maresca’s options include Daka, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Tom Cannon.
Aside from Vardy, City are also without Kasey McAteer, Ricardo Pereira, and Dennis Praet due to injuries. Jannik Vestergaard, however, returns after serving a two-match suspension.
“Kasey is still out,” Maresca stated during his press conference on Friday afternoon. “The only one is Jamie.” After the Sunderland game, he did not workout with us. It’s not that crucial. He only needs to rest a little. Today, we will see if he is available for the session.
“(For McAteer), it’s the same hamstring ailment he’s had before (this season). A little less than the last one. Hopefully, he can return in two, three, or four weeks.
“It is not an injury (to Vardy). Because of his age, he can be difficult to control, and he recently played. He hasn’t trained with us in the past two days. “We’ll see this afternoon.”
Wilfred Ndidi made an unexpected injury comeback in Tuesday’s game, playing the last 20 minutes. While he was in the squad, it was not Maresca’s original plan to utilize the Nigerian, who was making his first appearance in over two months. He is now ready to play.
“The other day, Wilf was with us just to be with the team,” she remarked. “The plan wasn’t to give him any minutes. But, because of the situation, the game, Yunus (Akgun)’s exhaustion, and the fact that we need to win games right now, he put in an extraordinary effort to play 20 minutes. Now he’s ready to play, but we’ll see tomorrow whether he starts or sits on the bench.”