Hamza Choudhury has dislocated his shoulder in training, with Leicester City fearing he could be sidelined for an extended period.
The injury, described by manager Steve Cooper as occurring during an “innocuous” moment, leaves the club anxiously waiting for further assessment.
They hope to determine the severity of the damage once the injury settles, though the prospect of a lengthy absence looms.
Choudhury, a product of Leicester’s academy, suffered the injury during a routine training session on Wednesday.
While the club is unsure of the exact timeline for his recovery, Cooper suggested it could be anything from weeks to months, depending on the complexity of the dislocation.
“Unfortunately, Hamza dislocated his shoulder in training yesterday in an innocuous situation,” Cooper explained during Thursday’s press conference.
“We’re still working out the extent of how long he will be out because it’s still settling down, but it’s certainly going to be a little while. Whether that’s weeks or months, we’re not sure yet because it can be quite complicated.”
He added: “It was a really unfortunate situation. It was a normal duel, a normal challenge, no foul, and unfortunately, his shoulder ended up on the wrong side of an awkward position.”
Choudhury’s absence adds to Leicester’s growing injury list, with Jakub Stolarczyk and Patson Daka already sidelined.
Cooper also hinted at further concerns ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth, revealing that a couple of other players have been unable to train this week. However, the Leicester boss declined to name those in doubt for the upcoming match.
“There’s been a couple of kicks for some players that we’ve had to manage through the week and that have not trained yet, but hopefully they’re getting over that and we’ll see if they’re available for the weekend,” Cooper said.
When pressed on the identities of the players who haven’t trained, Cooper simply replied: “I do, yeah,” before refusing to elaborate.
On a more positive note, Jannik Vestergaard returned to full training on Thursday and could be in contention for a place in the squad.
Meanwhile, Choudhury’s injury may offer opportunities to players who missed out against Arsenal last weekend, including Boubakary Soumare, Kasey McAteer, Luke Thomas, Will Alves, and Vestergaard himself.
With Bournemouth visiting the King Power Stadium this weekend, Cooper will be hoping that his squad’s injury woes don’t derail their chances of securing a much-needed result.