By NBC
Leicester City will have to play January without one of its most influential performers.
Wilfred Ndidi missed Wednesday’s League Cup semifinal first leg versus Aston Villa and is out the rest of the month.
The Nigerian may require surgery for “a knock” suffered in training this week.
The 23-year-old Ndidi has gone 90 minutes in 19 of 21 Premier League matches this season, missing one and coming off the bench in another.
He’s one of two PL players with 80-plus tackles this season, recording 85. Teammate Ricardo Pereira (83) is the other. Ndidi’s 55 interceptions also lead the PL.
Brendan Rodgers didn’t go into detail and says it isn’t “overly serious” (hockey coaches would be proud of the vagueness).
From The Leicester Mercury:
“He took a knock in training yesterday,” Rodgers said. “Unfortunately, he might need to have a slight operation tomorrow [Thursday] which will put him out for a few weeks. That’s just unfortunate. … But it’s not overly serious. Hopefully into February, he will be fit and ready to go again.”
It’s a massive loss for Leicester. Fortunately, the Foxes have a soft January which includes Southampton, Burnley, and West Ham in league play and a second leg against Villa.
