Maresca: Vardy, Ricardo, McAteer Out For Chelsea
Gradually returning to fitness, Wilfred Ndidi could get some playing time at Chelsea on Sunday, having featured in City’s last two outings. Manager Enzo Maresca says the Club will continue to play the Nigerian cautiously as he looks to provide added impetus to Leicester’s goals this term.
“We are trying to manage the situation a little bit, to progress a little bit with him,” Maresca told LCFC.com on Friday. “He played 20-25 minutes against Sunderland and 45 in the last game. We’ll see for Sunday’s game.
“With him, with all the injured players, when they are coming back, you have to be a little bit careful, especially now. We have, I think, just 40 days to go to finish the season.
“Any injury at this moment can be crucial, so you have to be careful, but it’s football. We cannot control any injuries.”
Maresca says that Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira, and Kasey McAteer will miss Leicester City’s trip to Stamford Bridge for Sunday’s Emirates FA Cup tie at Chelsea.
The Foxes, who beat the Blues in the 2021 final, face the same foe on the road in the quarter-finals of this term’s fixture. The tie pits the 11th in the Premier League host against first in the Sky Bet Championship.
Ahead of the meeting in west London, Maresca offered an update on his squad’s fitness. Vardy, Ricardo, and McAteer are all out, and while the Foxes hope to welcome them back after the international break, Maresca cannot be specific.
“Kasey’s injured, Ricky’s injured, and Jamie’s injured,” the Italian told the media in Seagrave on Friday.
“As I said at the last press conference, when we played Sunderland away, [Vardy] didn’t train. He just did something before the game. Then he played the previous game. Fortunately for us, he scored twice but got injured again.
“It’s a small problem. I said many times that we all love Jamie Vardy, but at the same time, he’s 37, and we cannot forget that. It’s not a big issue. We also have the international break, so hopefully, we can have all our players back after that.”
“Kasey is probably the worst one. We’re unsure if he’ll return after the international break, but probably yes. We’ll see.”
