Fofana In Contention To Make Foxes Debut, Says Rodgers
- Wesley Fofana could make his debut for the Club in Sunday's clash with Aston Villa (7:15pm kick-off)
- Çağlar Söyüncü picked up an abductor strain while away with Turkey in the international break
- James Maddison (hip) is in contention to feature in some capacity for the Foxes
- Jamie Vardy (calf), Jonny Evans (abdominal) and Dennis Praet (knee) will be assessed this week
- Wilfred Ndidi (adductor) and Ricardo Pereira (ACL) remain out, Brendan Rodgers confirmed
The Foxes welcome Aston Villa to King Power Stadium on Sunday and, while Söyüncü's condition is still being assessed, Rodgers says the Turkey defender will certainly be out.
"We think that Çağs will most definitely be out with an abductor strain, so we’re waiting on the scan on that," the Northern Irishman told the media on Friday afternoon.
"We think that he is definitely out for a number of weeks, but until we get the final scans, that will determine the length of time.
"I’ve got no qualms about Wesley [Fofana] coming in to play. He's fit and fine. He’s been playing in the early part of the season and gone away and played for the France Under-21s as well.
"We’ve brought him in because he’s a big talent and he’s ready to come in and play now. He’s such a young player, but if I have to play Wesley, I have no qualms about that.
"We’ll see how Wes Morgan is also and then we’ll assess it over the next 24 hours. Wes has had some issues with his lower back, but we're hoping, if he's required, he'll be available to play."
England midfielder James Maddison, meanwhile, is in contention to play a role for the Foxes in some capacity against Villa as he continues his rehabilitation from a hip injury.
"He’s been out with the rehab team and joined in with training so he will be able to play some part at the weekend, which is great news for us," the 47-year-old added.
"He’s hugely missed, he’s a really talented player for us, and it’s just about getting his season going and, hopefully, he can stay injury free now."
Jonny Evans was substituted at half-time during Northern Ireland's 1-0 defeat by Norway on Wednesday and Rodgers says his suitability to play is set to be assessed.
A calf issue for Jamie Vardy, on the other hand, is also being monitored by the Club's medical team ahead of the visit of Dean Smith's side on Sunday.
"Jonny has come back with abdominal pain, so again, we’ll review that," he explained. "We’re hopeful that Jonny will be okay and that would obviously be a great bonus for the team.
"Vards has an issue around his calf, so we’re awaiting a scan on that. Dennis Praet, obviously, has gone away and done some work with Belgium, so we’ll see how he is, but he’ll be a doubt.
"Obviously, Daniel Amartey is out with his hamstring for a number of weeks, so the international break hasn’t been too kind for us."
Nevertheless, Rodgers retains full confidence in the depth of his squad and pointed to the performances of Papy Mendy for City in Wilfred Ndidi's absence over recent weeks.
"We’ve seen that already with the likes of Wilf going out and Papy coming in and he’s been outstanding for us," he continued.
"It’ll be unfortunate if some of these guys miss out, but it’ll provide an opportunity for other players to come in and the team have got a really good spirit.
"The mentality’s really good so the guys that come in, if they have to, will be ready to perform."
All times BST.