Ndidi out for three months with muscle injury

LISBON, PORTUGAL – NOVEMBER 17: Wilfred Ndidi of Nigeria reacts during the friendly match between Portugal and Nigeria at Estadio Jose Alvalade on November 17, 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Nigerian Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has been ruled out for three months with a muscle injury.

Ndidi missed Leicester’s Championship win over Huddersfield on New Year’s Day and was then replaced in Nigeria’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations squad on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old has since been replaced by Royal Antwerp of Belgian midfielder Alhassan Yusuf.

A three-month absence could see Ndidi miss 15 of Leicester’s remaining 20 league games this season.

“For Wilf, it will be a long time,” said Leicester manager boss Enzo Maresca.

“It could be three months. It looks like a muscle problem, but an important one so we now see in the next hours.”

Ndidi, an FA Cup winner with Leicester who is into the final six months of his contract at the King Power Stadium, has been a key member of Maresca’s table-topping Foxes.

He has made 24 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring four goals and providing six assists.

There are also doubts about Kelechi Iheanacho’s availability for this year’s AFCON due to injury.

The Eagles are currently in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a one-week training camp ahead of the AFCON 2023.

As part of preparations for the AFCON, the Eagles will face Guinea in a friendly game on Monday 8, January.

This year’s tournament will kickoff on 13 January and end 11 February, 2024.

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