One of Leicester City’s brightest young talents has been dealt the worst possible news after hearing he is expected to spend a number of months out on the sidelines.
The Foxes loaned out several young players in a bid to give them exposure to first-team football that they would’ve otherwise missed out on if they had remained at the King Power Stadium.
Those out on loan have had varying degrees of success but for one youngster who was beginning to make an impression, a horrible injury picked up will now stunt his progress.
Ben Nelson set for four months out with long-term injury
One of those sent out on loan this season was promising defender Ben Nelson.
The 20-year-old, who is a product of the Leicester academy, was sent to Championship side Oxford United and after a slow start, had found himself in the starting XI.
Unfortunately for Nelson, Oxford and Leicester City, he went off injured in a 1-0 win against Hull City and scans have come back to reveal that it was worse than first feared.
Oxford boss Des Buckingham confirmed the news on BBC Radio Oxford, saying: “It was probably the worst outcome we could have asked for. He’s torn a couple of the tendons off of one of his quads at the top of his hip.
“So it’s not going to be a quick return. We’re talking two, three, maybe four months to get him back to where he was and on the pitch.
“I’m devastated for him because he’s starting to really show the player he is and can be at this level. It’s now about making sure we work with Leicester to get him back, get him fit, and help him back on his journey.”
Ben Nelson injuries abandons potential recall plan
One of the main reasons behind the decision to loan Nelson out this season was to prepare him to compete amongst the first-team squad.
He featured a handful of times in the Championship-winning campaign last season and is seen as the long-term successor to the likes of Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes.
With none of the central defensive options there was some talk of Nelson being recalled and having a role to play in the second half of the season.
Steve Cooper was actually at the game where the youngster was injured to watch over him with a recall option potentially in mind, but, after the latest update, that seems out of the equation now.
Leave a Reply