Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed striker Jamie Vardy will soon be undergoing hernia surgery.
The 34-year-old has been a regular in the Premier League this season but has barely taken part in cup competitions. He only has 98 minutes of Europa League action under his belt, with Rodgers keen to give Vardy as many rest chances as possible.
Vardy was still expected to miss Sunday’s FA Cup meeting with Brentford, but Rodgers has confirmed the forward will be out for a bit longer after choosing to undergo corrective surgery on the matter.
“Jamie Vardy will be out for a few weeks,” Rodgers said (via the club’s official website). “As you know, we’ve been handling it over the last few months, and it’s been absolutely fantastic.
“We now have a window that allows him to have a minor operation on his hernia and then he will be back in a few weeks. He will be absent during this period.
“It’s a repair that doesn’t keep it from coming out for too long, but it’s just a repair in and around that herniated area. We don’t think he can really put it off any longer.
“We were hoping to do it a few weeks ago, but it’s a window where we can do it and that will obviously give him a good part of the season where he can be really influential for us.”
Losing Vardy will be a blow to Leicester, who will face tough battles against Everton, Wolves, Liverpool, Slavia Prague and Arsenal before the end of February.
In his place, Rodgers will likely choose to start Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who has yet to score in ten Premier League appearances this season. Winger Ayoze Perez has also spent time in a central striker role this season and will likely need to do so again in the coming weeks.
With such important fixtures coming up in the near future, Rodgers has confirmed that he plans to use his team’s full depth against Brentford.
“Yes, but we’ll still have a strong squad,” said the boss, when asked about rotation plans. “We will still have, virtually, a fully-fledged team of international players.
“With the games we have had and the games to come, I have real confidence in the team and I will always choose a team to win the game, but yes there will be changes.”
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