The Leicester City manager gives the latest on the fitness of his squad, including an update on the recovery of Ricardo Pereira as he works back from an Achilles rupture
Ricardo Pereira is “quite a way down his path” to recovery from his Achilles injury, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has said.
The Portuguese full-back joined the rest of the City squad at their warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi last week but was restricted to individual ball work and time in the gym. After rupturing his Achilles in the final pre-season match, he has not played yet.
It’s the third serious injury Ricardo has had in the past three years, following his cruciate ligament tear in March 2020, and the minor leg break he suffered this time last year. Muscle injuries in between mean he has played in just 29 of City’s last 100 Premier League matches.
READ MORE: Gareth Southgate sent ‘pressure’ jibes as James Maddison theory emerges
READ MORE: Leicester City transfers: Youri Tielemans committed, Roma approach, sanction ‘set’
Rodgers has previously said Ricardo was on schedule to be fit again for group training in January, with the usual timeline for Achilles ruptures likely to mean he returns to competitive action from mid-February. While he is still in the recovery phase, Rodgers wants to keep him close at hand.
“It’s very important,” Rodgers told LCFC TV on the decision to include Ricardo on the trip to the UAE, which finished on Sunday. “He’s had a bad run with injuries over the past couple of seasons.
“He’s quite a way down his path regarding his recovery. He’s looking perfect. It’s great for him to mix in among the squad, and get a bit of vitamin D as well, so it was good to have him here.”
Leave a Reply