Like Leeds United, Leicester City’s season has been heavily disrupted by injuries.
Brendan Rodgers has not had the luxury of having a fully-fit squad to pick from at any stage of the campaign.
The Foxes look as though they will have to accept mid-table mediocrity this term on the back of two fifth-place finishes in the last couple of years.
Despite picking up just their third away win of the season against Burnley on Tuesday, there were more injury woes for the Leicester boss as he was handed another blow.
Ricardo Pereira, who has been unable to string a few games together since rupturing his ACL in March 2020, once again had to be withdrawn early.
He was replaced at half-time at Turf Moor by Ademola Lookman after it looked as though he had made his way through the first 45 minutes relatively unscathed.
In his post-match press conference, Rodgers confirmed that his early substitution was injury-related.
“He felt a tightness in his hamstring, we couldn’t risk it,” said the Leicester manager. “We’re trying to keep him fit. Marc [Albrighton] goes back and does a great job.”
If the Portuguese right-back is unavailable for the visit of Leeds on Saturday, it leaves the Foxes extremely short of options in that area of the pitch.
Timothy Castagne and James Justin, who also largely operate on the right-hand side of the defence, will both miss this weekend’s clash, meaning Albrighton is likely to take up the role.
Elsewhere in the backline at King Power Stadium, both Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans remain out of contention while Ryan Bertrand is unlikely to be available before the end of the season.
