The Leicester City full-back is in training with the rest of his team-mates after recovering from an Achilles rupture he suffered just before the World Cup in November
James Justin’s performances in training are only showing manager Dean Smith what he could have had with the full-back not eligible to play in Leicester City’s relegation run-in.
After five months of rehabilitation from an Achilles rupture just before the World Cup, Justin has now rejoined group training at Seagrave, working alongside the rest of his team-mates as they prepare for crucial matches in the club’s bid for Premier League survival.
While Justin would require a few weeks of training to get up to speed following his long absence, Smith has said he would possibly be fit before the end of the campaign. But even if that is the case, he will play no part in it.
When City re-submitted their 25-man Premier League squad at the end of January, Justin was one of three players omitted, with the initial expectation that he would be out for the season. Loaned-out Marc Albrighton and Ayoze Perez also dropped out, with fit-again Ricardo Pereira and new signings Harry Souttar and Tete coming in.
Development squad captain Lewis Brunt and out-of-favor defensive duo Ryan Bertrand and Jannik Vestergaard were all handed places in the squad over Justin. None of the trio have played in the Premier League since the updated squad was announced.
“He (Justin) is training with the group,” Smith said. “I’ve told the doctors to keep him away from me because it’s one of those things where it’s ‘This is what you could have had!’
“He’s a good player and he’s been really good and bright in the sessions so far. It’s nice to have him around the group.
“Yeah, possibly (he would have been match fit by the end of the season), but he’s not in the Premier League squad so he can’t make it.”
Up until his injury, Justin had been playing left-back for City. His injury prompted the club to dip into the market in the transfer window, bringing in Victor Kristiansen.
READ MORE: Leicester City fixture schedule ‘isn’t right as Dean Smith criticizes Broadcaster picks
Leicester City’s next four Premier League matches are being played on Monday, with three selected by Sky Sports to be shown on their Monday Night Football program
Dean Smith has criticized the scheduling of Leicester City’s relegation run-in with the club’s next four games all to be played on a Monday.
City host Everton lives on Sky Sports on Monday night, with their trip to Fulham the following week to be played at 3 pm on Bank Holiday Monday to avoid a clash with King Charles III’s coronation. The two fixtures after that, against Liverpool and Newcastle, are also live on Sky’s Monday Night Football show.
The City boss said it “isn’t right” that the club should have so many fixtures moved to Monday when they will be playing after most of their relegation rivals, and so potentially adding extra pressure to their games.
The city is familiar with such scheduling from the title-winning season. Back in 2016, City played before their title rivals Tottenham most weeks, meaning it was often Spurs trying to play catch-up.
Smith said at his press conference on Friday afternoon: “I’m not so sure that I agree with the scheduling when there’s a lot of big games being played, and there’s a lot of teams who are involved in getting out of a relegation battle.
“To be playing after everybody isn’t right, personally, with the scheduling. It is what it is and we deal with that.
“I don’t believe you’ve got any choice in it, once broadcasters have picked which games they’re going to broadcast, you’re stuck with it, unfortunately. It’s just a bit odd that we’re playing four Monday games on the spin.
“It does (add pressure), because the table can look very different after some fixtures and you’re having to react to that, I suppose, in some games.
“We can’t do anything about that, all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and look to get wins, especially at home.”
