Leicester City manager, Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Nigerian defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will be sidelined for at least three months.
Recall that Ndidi was included in the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s 25-man squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations which will commence in Ivory Coast on January 13. But he had to be replaced when it was confirmed that he had been injured.
However, earlier today, January 3, Super Eagles official Instagram page confirmed that the coach has replaced Wilfred Ndidi with Alhassan Yusuf even though the nature of Ndidi’s injury had not been confirmed.
The last time Ndidi played for Leicester City was on December 26 against Ipswich Town. The game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The 27-year-old defensive midfielder didn’t play in Leicester City’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City on December 29 and also didn’t play in Leicester City’s 4-1 win over Huddersfield on Monday, January 1.
Even though Leicester didn’t announce the intensity of his injury, the management of the Super Eagles announced his replacement on January 2. Coach Jose Peseiro replaced Wilfred Ndidi with Alhassan Yusuf, a 23-year-old midfielder who plays for Belgian club Royal Antwerp.
Ahead of Leicester’s FA Cup game against Millwall later today, coach Maresca confirmed that Ndidi suffered a muscular injury which will keep him out of football for three months.
The coach said: “The players who are injured are all progressing well, “Jamie Vardy, Kasey McAteer, Dennis Praet, Will Alves, Kele (Kelechi Iheanacho) and Wilfred Ndidi. They are still in the same situation.
“Probably for Wilf, it will be a long time. It could be three months. It looks like a muscle problem, but an important one. We’ll see in the next few hours. The situation for Wilf is the clearest one.”
Note that Wilfred Ndidi who has been playing for Leicester City since 2017 is in the last 6 months of his contract with the second-tier club. He is expected to leave the club for free next summer.
