Nampalys Mendy is likely to be in action when Leicester City face Chelsea in Thursday’s Premier League outing, manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed.
Due to illness, the Senegal international was left out of the Foxes’ squad that silenced Watford 5-1 at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
With his health now restored, Mendy could be considered for action when the King Power Stadium giants square up against the Blues at Stamford Bridge as the 2021-22 season draws to a close.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, the Northern Irish manager also disclosed that Youri Tielemans. Ricardo Pereira and Hamza Choudhury are expected to miss the Chelsea game due to contrasting injury worries.
"Probably just one or two [changes] from the weekend," Rodgers was quoted by the Leicester City website.
"We’ll wait and see tomorrow. Youri's clashed his knee. Hamza is still out. He picked up a groin [tear]. He has been a fantastic player for us this season. He's probably trained more than anyone else.
"You won't have seen too much of him in the games but he's been a great support for the players. He's had a scan on it and he has a slight tear there. Papy Mendy should be back in.
“We had to take him off [at Watford] with illness and we’ll see how Ricardo Pereira is in training and if he’s available."
Mendy joined Leicester City from Nice in 2016 on a four-year deal worth £13 million, a club record at the time.
In his first season, he featured in 31 Premier League games for Claudio Ranieri’s men – with 23 of them as a starter.
However, the arrival of Wilfred Ndidi from Genk meant the 29-year-old was confined to the bench. In the 2019-20 campaign, he featured in just seven English elite division encounters.
In a positive twist of fate, Mendy has demonstrated to be a perfect replacement for the injured Nigeria international who is out of the team owing to an abductor injury.
Born in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France to Senegalese parents, Mendy represented France at U18, U19, U20, and U21 levels before pledging his allegiance to the Lions of Teranga.
He was part of Aliou Cisse’s team that won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after defeating Egypt on penalties in the final.
