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Newcastle United are back in Premier League action this weekend
Leicester City head to Newcastle United without midfielder Wilfred Ndidi. The 27-year-old, who is a Nigeria international with 62 caps under his belt, has picked up a hamstring injury and is set for a couple of weeks on the sidelines.
The Foxes make the trip to the North East on the back of their 2-2 draw at home to Brighton and Hove Albion last time out. They turned to Ruud van Nistelrooy as their new manager at the end of last month following their decision to sack Steve Cooper.
Newcastle’s upcoming opponents will have to make do without Ndidi over the festive period which is a blow. He has been on the books at the King Power Stadium since December 2016 and has made 290 appearances in all competitions, 16 of which have come this season.
His boss has said: “Correct, he has a hamstring injury so he’s not available. We’ll see how he reacts, but it seems like it will at least be a couple of weeks.”
Leicester also need to make checks on Harry Winks after Van Nistelrooy shared this update: “Doubtful. He’s done part of team training. We’ll assess him tomorrow to see if he’s available but it’s something very difficult. Today was the first day he did partial team training.”
The new Foxes’ head coach has also said this ahead of their match against Newcastle: “I want us to take confidence into the game and the development in areas we’ve been working on. I believe that we can make the next step on Saturday. The memory I have of Newcastle is Sir Bobby Robson. Leading up to this game, my thoughts went back to the year I had with him at PSV. He was a wonderful man and thinking of him makes me smile. I will go there with that thought.
“I need all my time and energy to focus on my own team. I looked at Newcastle and know how strong they are. We don’t focus on where they are in the league but the potential of where they can be. It’s a great squad. We have to be spot on to get a good game.
“They’re offensive threats, with (Alexander) Isak and (Anthony) Gordon and the midfield power they have with Joelinton and (Bruno) Guimaraes. They’ve got many options and it’s a good opportunity to continue to grow ourselves.”
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He added: ”When you play away, it’s difficult. The atmosphere in the stadium (St James’ Park) is special. We have players who know that. It can ignite, with a tackle or a good action, or a bad one from us. It’s important to keep that in mind.
“When I first walked in here, we spoke about where we want to go to and how we can get the maximum out of this squad. We set the standards of daily work and of emotions and spirit. The reaction of the players was great and we saw it in the two games. What brings you the best chance of results is emphasising on team and spirit and work to get better. It’s the road I try to go on my first week.”
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