Leicester City are not planning for Ricardo Pereira to play any part in the remainder of the Premier League season when it resumes later this month.
The right-back damaged his knee ligaments in the 4-0 win over Aston Villa in March, the final Premier League match before the campaign was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Manager Brendan Rodgers initially suggested Ricardo would be on the sidelines for four-to-six months, prompting hope among some quarters of the fanbase that the reigning player of the year would be able to feature before the season was over.
However, with a new end date set for August 1 – when the FA Cup final will draw the curtain on the domestic campaign – Rodgers has ruled out the Portuguese star.
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Asked if there was any chance of Ricardo playing, Rodgers replied: “No, I wouldn’t have thought so. At this moment in time, we’re not looking at that.
“He’s working very hard in his rehabilitation, he’s doing very well, but I wouldn't have thought so at this point.”
James Justin, who had deputised for Ricardo in cup matches, is expected to see out the season as City’s first-choice right-back.
As Justin’s back-ups, Vontae Daley-Campbell, the Under-23s’ regular right-back, and Dennis Gyamfi, of City’s Under-18s, have both been training with the first team.
City are now back into contact sessions at Belvoir Drive and, other than Ricardo and Daniel Amartey (ankle), have no injury issues ahead of the scheduled June 17 restart.
“No there’s nothing at this point,” Rodgers said when asked about injuries to the rest of his squad. “There’s still three weeks to go but at this point, nothing.
“Let’s hope it stays like that, touch wood.
“[Setting a date for the Premier League’s resumption] was important for everyone. It’s been a long time that we haven’t been playing, and step by step, stage by stage, we’ve been working our way towards that moment.
“But it was important for the purpose of players, the planning, the logistics, that we got a start date, so thankfully that came out and now we can focus on getting the games under way, which I think will be great for everyone.”
