Jamie Vardy set for spell on sidelines after hernia surgery
By Tom Gott
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that striker Jamie Vardy will soon undergo surgery on a hernia.
The 34-year-old has been a regular in the Premier League this season but has barely featured in cup competitions. He has just 98 minutes of Europa League action to his name, with Rodgers keen to offer Vardy as many chances to rest as possible.
Vardy was always expected to miss Sunday's FA Cup meeting with Brentford, but Rodgers has confirmed that the striker will be out for a little while longer after electing to undergo corrective surgery on the issue.
"Jamie Vardy will be out for a few weeks," Rodgers said (via the club's official website). "As you know, we’ve been managing him over this last number of months, and he’s been absolutely fantastic.
"We have a window now that allows him to have a minor operation on his hernia and then he’ll be back within a few weeks. He’ll be out for that period.
"It’s one that doesn’t keep him out for too long, but it’s just a repair in and round that hernia area. It’s one we feel he can’t really put it off much longer.
"We were hoping to do it a few weeks back, but this is window where we can get it done and that will obviously leave him with a good part of the season where he can be really influential for us."
Losing Vardy will come as a huge blow to Leicester, who will face tough battles against the likes of Everton, Wolves, Liverpool, Slavia Prague and Arsenal before the end of February.
In his place, Rodgers will likely opt to start Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who is yet to score in ten appearances in the Premier League this season. Winger Ayoze Perez has also spent time in a central striker role this season and will likely be needed to do so again over the coming weeks.
With such important fixtures coming up in the near future, Rodgers confirmed that he plans to use the full depth of his squad against Brentford.
"Yes, but we’ll still have a strong team," the boss said when asked about rotation plans. "We’ll still, virtually, have a team of full international players.
"With the games that we’ve had and the games coming up, I have a real trust in the squad and I'll always pick a team to win the game, but yes, there will be some changes."