Rodgers: Maddison To Miss Slavia Prague Tie
- Brendan Rodgers delivered a fitness update on his squad on Wednesday afternoon
- Leicester City host Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday (8pm GMT kick-off)
- The Foxes secured a 0-0 draw in the first leg at Sinobo Stadium in Prague last week
- James Maddison is set to miss the game on Thursday after being withdrawn at Aston Villa
The Foxes welcome Slavia Prague to Leicester City Stadium on Thursday for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League Round of 32 tie against the Czech champions after a 0-0 draw last time out.
Maddison, meanwhile, was withdrawn in the second half after scoring City's second goal in a 2-1 Premier League success over Aston Villa on Sunday and Rodgers provided an update during Wednesday's pre-match press conference at LCFC Training Ground.
Discussing the possible reoccurrence of the 24-year-old's hip issue, the Leicester manager said: "He won’t be available for the game. He’s in consultation with our doctor and some specialists and they’re just trying to see where we’re at, but certainly for tomorrow night, he misses out.
"When you have quality players [out], of course, it’s a shame, but I have always said, if they’re not available, I can’t over think it. We rely on our squad.
"We have very good players that can come in. I’m confident in the squad and the players’ ability to get the job done. We’ll do what we’ve always done, look to be flexible. We’ve got players with other attributes."
On the plan for Maddison's return to action, Rodgers added: "We don’t believe he needs more surgery. It’s irritable where he’s had the issue before. We’re just getting all the information on it. He went to London yesterday, with Bryan [English], our club doctor, just to get an opinion.
"He’s down there today as well, getting another opinion, so we can clear up the information after that. We’re confident he won’t need anything surgical.
"We’re just having to get a specialist opinion on it and then formulate a plan for his recovery and reintegration into the team again."
Leicester have had to rely on the full depth of their squad on several occasions already during the 2020/21 season and Rodgers says much of the success they have enjoyed so far can be attributed to their professionalism.
"It's the players' readiness and the work they put in," he continued. "When we sat down and spoke in pre-season, we knew it wasn't going to be about 11 players, it was going to be about the squad.
"The players' mentality and their professionalism is really shining through. When they haven't been playing, they're making sure they're ready for when they're asked to come in and play. They've been absolutely brilliant.
"That has allowed us to shuffle it around because they've been training so intensely. If they haven't played for a few games, they're still playing to a high level.
"The tactical flexibility of the team has allowed us to arrive into games and play in different ways, while maintaining the principles of our game, so they deserve a high amount of credit up to this point."