Russell Martin has revealed why Christian McFarlane was absent from Leicester City's Carabao Cup win over Northampton
Christian McFarlane
Christian McFarlane could make his Leicester City debut against Notts County(Image: 2026 Plumb Images)
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Christian McFarlane will be in the squad for Leicester City's League One opener against Notts County this week after missing out on his debut against Northampton.
The left-back joined the Foxes from Manchester City on a season-long loan to provide competition for Luke Thomas. McFarlane moved to England at the start of 2025 and has featured regularly for the Development Squad at the Etihad Stadium.
Russell Martin named three new signings in the squad for City's Carabao Cup first-round win over Northampton Town at the weekend. Liam Cullen, Wes Burns and Tommy Watson all made their debuts for the club, while Conor Chaplin and Alex McCarthy joined McFarlane in missing the cup win.
Chaplin has now missed the last two games now, while McCarthy was not risked after returning to training earlier in the week. McFarlane's mystery absence on Saturday was explained by Martin after the game.
“He got a bruised foot yesterday and it swelled up quite badly," the City boss told LeicestershireLive. "He’ll train next week and he’ll be in the squad next week.
"It was just precautionary really. There was no point in him being involved today with it.”
Christian McFarlane
Christian McFarlane has strengthened Leicester City's left-back options(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
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Thomas started at left-back against Northampton and struggled throughout. The academy product did assist Caleb Okoli's winner from a corner, but failed to impress on the ball as Leicester tried to build up.
Martin was visibly frustrated by the left-back's lack of aggression when he had possession. Thomas improved after the break and played with more tempo in his passing. "The lads were really brave and I said to them [that] we’re going to have to be," Martin said.
"We have to show bravery all season. We have to show intensity all season and they did. There will be games that are very different in terms of the challenges ahead of us and what’s in front of us with the opposition, we have to be ready for all that."