James Maddison is nursing a knee issue that has ruled him out of Leicester City’s clash with Crystal Palace.
Maddison may not have started anyway with Brendan Rodgers making seven changes to cope with two games in 48 hours, the manager previously saying he would be risking two-month lay-offs for his players if they played twice in quick succession. However, the number 10 did not even make the bench at Selhurst Park.
However, he should be fine to play in the first fixture of 2021, a trip to Newcastle on Sunday.
Wesley Fofana and Jamie Vardy were two of the others to drop out, with Rodgers saying both are nursing knocks.
Fofana is not in the squad at all, but Vardy is, albeit his problem groin means his minutes off the bench will likely be limited.
“Naturally, with the closeness of the games, we’ve got one or two who aren’t fit,” Rodgers said in his pre-match interview.
“James Maddison, it’s just a recurrence of his knee. He should be okay for the weekend but it’s just the proximity of the games is too quick for him.
“Jamie has obviously had an issue with his groin area, so that normally takes a few days to recover, so naturally he wasn’t able to go again so fast.
“And Wesley Fofana has had an ongoing issue with his knee, so again, the proximity of the games wouldn’t allow us to play him, so he’s not in the squad.”
City also have Cengiz Under out with a hamstring problem, and Ricardo Pereira sidelined with a groin issue.
