Cooper: No Fitness Changes For Southampton
- Steve Cooper has provided a fitness update on his Leicester City squad
- The Foxes take on Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday
- Jannik Vestergaard featured for Denmark over the international break
- Patson Daka is working towards his return from injury
- Cooper also provided an update on Hamza Choudhury and Jakub Stolarczyk
The Foxes head south to tackle Russell Martin's Saints on matchday eight in the Premier League on the back of a 1-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth a little over a fortnight ago.
Jannik Vestergaard was out for City before the break but featured twice for Denmark after an ankle injury, while several others represented their nations. With some yet to return to training, Cooper currently has no new injuries to contend with.
"It was good, we got some good work done," he said of the break. "It’s a less intense period when you’re not preparing for a Premier League game but it’s an opportunity to do some work and get some other stuff done in terms of reflection.
"Nothing’s changed. Jannik Vestergaard has played a couple of games for the national team. He was just about getting fit before Bournemouth. He’s in a better place now in terms of fitness and recovery from his ankle injury.
"We’re waiting for a few players to come back but everybody is as they were before the break."
Patson Daka, on the other hand, is still working towards his return from an ankle injury of his own sustained in pre-season. Now back on the grass, under the watchful eye of the medical team, the Zambian is progressing well but needs time.
"He’s definitely making good progress," Cooper explained. "It was quite a serious injury and he had an operation. It was an unfortunate time as well, coming just before the season was about to start. He’s not far off the final stages of his rehab.
"He’s on the grass a little bit, very much with the medical team, and building towards being closer to being back with us. His rehab is on course and going to plan. It was quite a serious injury which he needed a bit of time to recover from so he’s still in that process."
Midfielder Hamza Choudhury (shoulder) and goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk (foot) also remain out, but Cooper is pleased by their continuing recoveries.
"Hamza’s making decent progress," he added. "With an injury like his, it’s always a discussion on: does it get operated on, or do you let it recover more naturally? That’s a decision we’ve made.
"We haven’t gone down the operation route, so he seems to be recovering quite nicely. It will still take a little bit of time because it was a dislocation. It’s more common in other sports, but can happen in our sport as well.
"Hamza has attacked his injury in a positive way, in a ruthless manner, towards getting back as soon as possible, and he’ll be back with us as and when, but not sure when. [Stolarczyk's] injury was similar to Patson's, they had a similar injury. His rehab is slightly different with him being a goalkeeper.
"He’s able to be out on the grass a little more, still with the medical team and the rehab team. The goalkeeper coach is doing a little bit with him but it’s more around handling than footwork or diving.
"He did his injury a few weeks before Patson, but he’s still in that same period towards returning to being on the grass and that final stage of rehab."