LONDON, July 6 — Leicester City playmaker James Maddison and full back Ben Chilwell are injury doubts for tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Arsenal, manager Brendan Rodgers said today.
The pair are among the top chance creators in Rodgers’ side this season as the Foxes look to retain their top four spot and qualify for the Champions League for the first time since 2016.
“We’ve got doubts over James Maddison and Ben Chilwell. They could be the two who could struggle,” Rodgers told reporters in a virtual news conference.
“We just have to wait and see. Ben’s (injury) is at the bottom of his foot, it’s giving him pain. We’ll see what the specialist says, sometimes you can play through it.”
Maddison missed Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Crystal Palace with a hip injury while Chilwell came off at halftime.
Leicester face an Arsenal side that have won their last four games in all competitions and Rodgers praised Mikel Arteta for turning around their fortunes since he took over as manager in December, with the London club having moved up to seventh.
“I think Mikel has done very well,” Rodgers said. “There’s a huge expectation but he’s gone in and how he’s dealt with it so far has been outstanding. He’s made it very clear how he wants them to play, you can see the style.
“His courage to develop that, and they’ve played a couple of different systems, but the style has always remained the same. The team is very organised. They play how Arsenal supporters want them to play.”
Leicester are third with 58 points but have dropped seven points since the restart last month, with Chelsea (57 points) and Manchester United (55) within touching distance in the top-four race with five rounds of games left to play.
“What the players have done to this point is remarkable,” Rodgers added. “To be producing that level of consistency — and we have had bumps — the players have been brilliant up to this point.
“The league is so competitive, not just with the top clubs. For us to be in amongst it, is very good.” — Reuters
