Ranieri’s Fitness Update: Mendy & Okazaki

- Mendy has had to undergo surgery on his ankle, Ranieri revealed 

- The City boss declared striker Okazaki fit for the clash

Ahead of Tuesday evening’s UEFA Champions League clash with FC Copenhagen, manager Claudio Ranieri revealed on Monday that Nampalys Mendy has had surgery on his ankle. 

Mendy joined the Foxes in the summer from French outfit Nice, but was substituted on his Premier League debut against Arsenal in September after landing awkwardly. 

The midfielder has not featured since and has now had to have surgery on his ankle, with Ranieri expecting him to be potentially out of action for up to five weeks. 

“Mendy was unlucky,” said Ranieri. “In the last training session he had a little fracture of the bone. I think today (Monday) he is in surgery just to clean this little fragment of bone out. 

“It depends how long, it could be four weeks or five weeks. I don’t know. He was an unlucky man.” 

Meanwhile, Ranieri declared Shinji Okazaki fit for Tuesday evening’s encounter after the striker was not included in the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday. 

Ranieri added: “Shinji didn’t play [against Chelsea] because every time he comes back from international matches he is not Shinji. 

“He needs to recover a little more for this reason I put him in the stand. He is very important for us and a fantastic player and he can help us a lot. He is available.”