Jamie Vardy is still a fortnight away from returning to action with only one or two of Leicester City’s injured contingent set to return against Rotherham.
Vardy has missed City’s last three games with knee problems and won’t be seen for some time, while Enzo Maresca has hinted that he may not feature before the end of the year. It’s a busy festive period for City as the game against the Millers will be the first of four games in ten days.
City will have Dennis Praet available after illness ruled him out of the 3-2 win over Birmingham, while Yunus Akgun could also come in after returning to training this week. Not available are Kasey McAteer and Marc Albrighton, who have similar schedules to Vardy.
Another big boost was the return of Callum Doyle to training. The on-loan defender, who we haven’t seen since his knee surgery in September, joined his teammates for the first time this week.
“He (Vardy) is still out and needs a few more weeks,” Maresca said at a press conference on Friday afternoon. “We were expecting days, weeks. He is still in the process. Hopefully, in one or two weeks he will be able to come back.
“Kasey is progressing well, but he is not with us. He’s not running around the pitch. He’s still recovering. Like Jamie, he needs weeks.
“Yunus is close, he had his first training session with us yesterday. We’ll see if we consider him to be in the squad tomorrow. Everything is fine with him. Callum is fine too. Everything is fine with him. He had his first training with us yesterday. Dennis is fine. Marc is like Jamie and Kasey, he needs weeks.”
If Vardy’s injury lasts longer, City could be in trouble. Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka will leave for the Nigeria and Zambia national teams respectively at the start of January, leaving the club’s only recognised senior striker in Tom Cannon, who signed for £7.5m in the summer but has not yet featured for City.