Patson Daka has undergone ankle surgery and will be unavailable for months, with Jamie Vardy’s continued absence leaving the club short on striking options to face Tottenham
Leicester City have been hit with a major injury blow on the eve of the new season with Patson Daka ruled out for months with a serious injury.
The Zambian striker hobbled off during the club’s final pre-season friendly at Lens last weekend and medical assessments showed damage to his ankle. He underwent surgery on Friday and now faces months on the sidelines.
With Jamie Vardy still recovering from the knock he sustained at the beginning of pre-season, and with no new players arriving, City have Tom Cannon as their only fit recognised striker. Stephy Mavididi and Bobby De Cordova-Reid will also be contenders to lead the line.
Conor Coady is the third outfield player on the sidelines. He picked up a hamstring injury at the open training session last week and will be out until September.
“Patson, it’s not great news.” manager Steve Cooper said at his press conference on Friday. “He’s suffered quite a serious ankle injury last week. He’s going to be out for a good few months. He had an operation today. That’s really unfortunate for him because he was looking good in pre-season.
“Vards has been injured since the second week of pre-season. He’s closer to returning but will be a little while, although he’s itching to get back. It’s not great at that end of the pitch.
“Vards is at the latter stages of rehab. It’s just making sure he can get past those final stages before he fully returns. With his experience and his age, he understands his body and what it takes. It won’t be the first injury he’s recovered from. He will have a big say in that process of returning and we’ll work together.
“Conor Coady will be out for a few more weeks with his hamstring. Luke Thomas has returned to training.”
With the deadline for registering new signings now passed, there will be no new players in the squad on Monday, even if they join the club over the weekend. Cooper recognises it’s far from an ideal scenario as he weighs up who to pick in his 11.
He added: “It’s not the perfect situation for number nines going into this game. There’s no point hiding away from that. We have to find a way. We have to find the right strategy for the gameplan against Spurs to make sure we can be a threat.
“We have to believe in our way and the things we’re doing, including in creating and scoring. And that’s not just the striker. They can be the main guy and the focal point, but it’s about how you get it to the top end of the pitch. We’ve got enough players more than capable of making a difference at the top end of the pitch.”
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