Leicester City manager Claude Puel has confirmed that star striker Jamie Vardy returned to training on Thursday after suffering an illness bug and cast doubt over his avilability versus West Ham.
The England hitman made a surprise early exit in the club’s trip to Arsenal, the player himself revealing it was sickness which forced him down the tunnel while play was continuing, and Puel revealed that the problem had left him out of action until Thursday, when he stepped back into training.
The French boss confirmed that he was a doubt for the visit of the Hammers, insisting a late test would have to be taken to see if he could feature.
He told the Leicester Mercury: “He has stomach problems. He came back today in the training session. We will see if he can start for this game.
“We will see if he can make progress. He had a problem and he needed a little more time and we will see if he can be available.”
Opinion
Vardy is Leicester’s main weapon and so it would be a heavy blow to the Foxes if they were to see him go missing for the visit of West Ham. The Hammers are not looking particularly stable at the back and would happily welcome any absence of Vardy, or another Leicester star, to help their cause in getting back to winning ways. Manuel Pellegrini knows all about how frustrating it can be to have star men ruled out after suffering numerous injury blows at the London Stadium this season and so he might well be feeling that the football gods are shining down on him for once, albeit at Leicester’s expense. However, the tenacious striker will do everything he can to be available and as such the Irons cannot rely on this illness to keep him out of action. If anything it will make him more determined to prove himself – not what the Hammers need in their search for a win.