Leaicester City Duo Wes Morgan and Record Signing Islam Slimani to Miss Arsenal Clash

Premier League champions Leicester City will be without captain Wes Morgan and striker Islam Slimani for the trip to FA Cup finalists Arsenal on Wednesday [26 April]. Morgan limped off during the Champions League draw with Atletico Madrid last week with what has been diagnosed as a hamstring injury, while record signing Slimani remains sidelined by a groin problem.

Neither will be involved against Arsenal, while holding midfielder Mampalys Mendy is out for the rest of the season having undergone surgery on an ankle problem. The former France Under-21 international has not played since the FA Cup defeat to Millwall in February primarily down to an ankle issue which will force him out for the remainder of the campaign.

"Unfortunately Wes Morgan won't make it [for Wednesday's game with Arsenal]," said Shakespeare according to Leicester's Twitter page. "I think he just overstretched his hamstring. It's not a full pull but we're just mindful of it. Islam Slimani has a groin strain. Unfortunately Papy Mendy has had an operation on his ankle. He will be out for the rest of the season I'm afraid."

Seven points from their final six league games will guarantee Leicester will beat the drop to the Championship following a run of just one defeat in their last seven fixtures. They travel to an Arsenal side fresh from reaching a record 20th FA Cup final and still chasing a place in next season's Champions League, and Shakespeare expects plenty of fight from Arsene Wenger's side.

"Yesterday [in the 2-1 extra time win over Manchester City] I saw the Arsenal players were fighting to win and they thoroughly deserved their victory," Shakespeare admitted. "I'm not sure what they'll do on Wednesday as they have good depth, but we have to focus on ourselves.

"Both teams need the points for different reasons and I'm sure it'll be a decent game. I'm not sure how many points survival will take. We don't know what's around the corner. We aren't safe. Even if we get there we've to keep trying to win. Competitiveness is vital in football. We need it to the end. We've managed to get a few recovery days now and from looking at training, I think the rest has done us good."

Source / credit: ibtimes

Comments

Real Madrid Left Back Marcelo Ruled Out for One Month while Toni Kroos will Miss Real Madrid's trip to Alaves

Real Madrid star Toni Kroos is set join Marcelo in the treatment room when Los Blancos visit Alaves on Saturday (23 September) after suffering a rib injury. The news is a fresh concern for Zinedine Zidane as Karim Benzema, Theo Hernandez, Jesus Vallejo and Mateo Kovacic are also ruled out for the visit to Mendizorroza due to various injuries. Kroos, 27, missed the last weekend's 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad due to a fitness problem. The Germany international returned to Zidane's starting line-up for Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Real Betis and was able to complete the full 90 minutes. However, it looks like Kroos suffered a recurrence of the problem in that game after Real Madrid revealed on Friday morning that the midfielder skipped the final training session before Los Blancos' trip to Vitoria. Zidane himself later confirmed the blow in a press conference, adding that he expects the midfielder to recover in time for the crucial Champions League trip t...

Tottenham Close to Completing £23m Serge Aurier Transfer

Tottenham are closing in on a £23million move for Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier. The Ivory Coast international has been free to leave the French giants following the arrival of Dani Alves to the club. Aurier, 24, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Chelsea but Spurs have shown the firmest interest in the right-back. Mauricio Pochettino sanctioned Kyle Walker’s £50million move to Manchester City on the basis that Kieran Trippier had shown he was a worthy replacement towards the end of last season. However, the Argentine wants greater strength in depth and the Evening Standard claim Spurs are close to a £23m deal and Aurier will sign a five-year deal. Aurier was denied entry into the UK last October for Paris Saint-Germain’s clash with Arsenal because he was found guilty of elbowing a police offer a month earlier. The ban is still in place but Aurier is currently contesting the charge and Spurs are clearly confident that he will win his case....

Chelsea Forward Lucas Piazon Suffers Broken Leg

Chelsea playmaker Lucas Piazon suffered a suspected broken leg last night. The 23-year-old was in action for Fulham, where is on loan for the season, when the injury occurred. The Brazilian forward, who scored a late equaliser against former club Reading over the weekend to secure Slavisa Jokanovic's 10 men an unlikely point, had to be carried off the pitch in the 35th minute of a Tuesday night (15 August) Championship stalemate at Leeds United after being hurt by a strong challenge from Conor Shaughnessy. The clash, which did not even produce a free-kick, left Piazon with a broken fibula. ‘We are so disappointed for this situation about Lucas Piazon. I believe he broke the fibula or broke the leg,’ said Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic. ‘It’s a very bad injury and we will lose him for a long time. It’s not a question about complaining – it can be bad luck or a tackle outside of the normal. ‘But I’m really disappointed with what I heard from one of the referees w...

Plauseorminus

Search This Blog