James Maddison should be available for the Boxing Day clash with Newcastle United after getting 'up to speed' following the World Cup. The Leicester City playmaker was not included in the matchday squad for the Foxes' comfortable Carabao Cup victory at MK Dons on Tuesday night.
Goals from Youri Tielemans, Jamie Vardy, and former Magpies forward Ayoze Perez sealed a 3-0 win at Stadium:MK, and booked Leicester's spot in the quarter final. Brendan Rodgers side could face Newcastle in the next round of the competition, after the Magpies earned a narrow home win over Bournemouth on the same night.
Maddison - a summer transfer target for Newcastle - suffered with a hamstring injury shortly after his Qatar call-up and did not feature for England at the World Cup. The 26-year-old was granted extended leave following the Three Lions' quarter-final elimination, and Leicester assistant manager Chris Davies is confident the attacking midfielder will make his return against the Magpies.
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Davies told reporters: “We just need to get him up to speed really, he’ll be training this week. He was training with England, he didn’t train initially when he first went but then he did.
“He is fine, he will be training with us this week and he’s fine. It is just a question of getting him up to speed.
"James came back a little bit later than the other guys that played tonight from the World Cup, so he was not up to speed to play, just as the other guys wouldn’t if they came back later. Yes, he is training this week. I would expect him to be available for Boxing Day.”
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