Advertisement

Leicester City receive Jamie Vardy fitness boost ahead of Carabao Cup semi-final against Aston Villa

Jamie Vardy has been in fine form this season and is at the top of the Premier League scoring charts - Action Images via Reuters
Jamie Vardy has been in fine form this season and is at the top of the Premier League scoring charts - Action Images via Reuters

Jamie Vardy could return for Leicester's crucial Carabao Cup semi-final against Aston Villa next week, in a huge boost for Brendan Rodgers.

Vardy has undergone a scan on the glute muscle injury he sustained in the 4-1 win over West Ham on Wednesday night and Leicester are confident that the Premier League's leading scorer will make a swift return.

The 33 year old was taken off late in the first-half after clearing the ball near the Leicester penalty area, and there were early fears that he had suffered a hamstring injury.

But Rodgers revealed after the match that Vardy's injury was related to his glute, and the striker was assessed by medical staff on Thursday.

Vardy is likely to undergo further tests in the next 48 hours but there is an outside chance that he will be available for the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday night, with the tie delicately poised at 1-1.

Leicester face Championship promotion chasers Brentford in the FA Cup on Saturday, where Rodgers is expected to make changes to his squad.

Vardy will be given as much time as possible to recover for the tie next week, with Leicester just 90 minutes away from reaching their first cup final since 2000.

If the former England international fails to recover in time, Leicester have the option of £25million striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who has scored in three of their cup ties this season.

Youri Tielemans, the midfielder, said: "Jamie has his type of play but Kelechi has performed very well and has his qualities as well.

"He fits very well in the team and we have to play with his qualities. Kelechi is a very good striker and we can use him for the rest of the season."