Rodgers Delivers Detailed Pre-Brentford Fitness Update
- Brendan Rodgers speaks ahead of Leicester City's trip to Brentford on Sunday (2pm BST kick-off)
- Timothy Castagne (hamstring) and Ayoze Pérez (illness) are in contention to feature for the Foxes
- Marc Albrighton could be out for up to three weeks after a heavy challenge in Russia
- Youri Tielemans (back) has been in post-match recovery this week and 'looks fine', Rodgers says
- Jonny Evans is managing a foot issue 'very well' following two consecutive starts for Leicester
- James Justin (ACL) may return to group training soon, Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring) 'isn’t too far away'
On the back of successive victories over Manchester United, in the Premier League, and Spartak Moscow, in the UEFA Europa League, the Foxes head to the capital on Sunday to tackle Thomas Frank's Bees outfit at Brentford Community Stadium.
Castagne (hamstring) and Pérez (illness) missed out on the trip to the Russian capital in midweek, but could return to contention this weekend. Rodgers also provided a positive update on Youri Tielemans and Jonny Evans – two players who were substituted at Otkrytie Bank Arena.
"Timothy Castagne, who wasn’t involved [at Spartak Moscow], should be okay," the Northern Irishman told the media at LCFC Training Ground on Friday afternoon. "Ayoze as well, he wasn’t feeling great for a few days, but he trained today and looked very good and strong, so that’s a bonus for us.
"[Tielemans] had a spasm towards his lower back, but he looks fine. He's on a recovery work today and with the medical team, but he should be fine."
Centre-back Evans, on the other hand, has started City's last two matches after a foot issue and Rodgers is hopeful that the Northern Ireland international can feature in west London.
"He's coping and managing very well," the 48-year-old added. "He was excellent other night and we got him off when we felt we could. He had a little bit of soreness towards the end of the game, actually not in his foot. It was in his lower back, which he felt a little bit in the Manchester United game.
"Overall, he's recovered well thus far and he'll hopefully be fit and ready for the weekend."
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Marc Albrighton, however, could be set for over a fortnight on the sidelines after a heavy challenge in Moscow.
On the Premier League and Emirates FA Cup winner's condition, Rodgers explained: "Marc had a horrendous challenge in the game against Moscow. He’s probably going to be two to three weeks out, which is a shame for him, because he’s such an important player for us."
James Justin's recovery from an ACL injury is progressing well, though, while Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring) is also being monitored by the Club's medical staff.
Rodgers continued: "James Justin will start training with the team very soon, so that’ll be great news for us. Wilf isn’t too far away, but that’ll probably be around the next international break."
After Patson Daka's four-goal heroics in Moscow, Rodgers also discussed the wealth of attacking options available to him, with Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho also in fearsome form for the Foxes.
"We’ve tried to manage the team and in particular our strikers," he said. "Jamie, we're keeping him fresh in Premier League games and hoping he becomes more involved as we go into the latter stages of European competition if we’re lucky enough to do that.
"The freshness has kept him full of energy and full of goals in the Premier League. Kelechi is now a consistent performer. He can score goals and create goals and he works very, very hard.
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"Patson was always one that we wanted to give that little bit of time to adapt to our way of working, our training, the league, and day in, day out, you see him become accustomed to that.
"Of course, he’s had an amazing week. He scored his first Premier League goal, the first Zambian player to score in the Premier League, and then to score four goals, it was an incredible individual achievement.
"We’re in a great position in that part of the field, whatever the combination is and however we want to work it. All three players are in great form and in a great place. We have so many games, you can’t tie just one or two players down to the position."