Alves, Nelson, Ndidi – Leicester City injury update

Will Alves has suffered a fresh injury blow in his long-awaited comeback to the Leicester City first team.

The talented attacking midfielder will be out for three to four weeks, manager Enzo Maresca has revealed, after he played for City’s Under-21s against Crystal Palace on Monday night. It means more patience is required for the teenager in his bid to make his first-team return.

Alves has not played a senior game since December 2022, the same month he suffered a serious knee injury. He made his comeback for the Under-21s last November, but a muscle injury then kept him out for another month. He returned earlier this month, and was an unused substitute for Maresca’s side at Watford.

But he will have to wait some time for his next chance. Alves scored in City’s 1-1 draw against Palace at Seagrave on Monday, a game that was abandoned after 86 minutes because of a serious injury to the visitors’ Joe Sheridan, but he also picked up a fresh muscle issue.

But there is good news for City with Ben Nelson available again. He missed out against Middlesbrough after struggling to recover from a kick to the leg he took in the win at Watford a week earlier. It means Alves and Wilfred Ndidi are the only players unavailable to take on Leeds.

“Ben is back,” Maresca said in his press conference on Thursday afternoon. “The only one at the moment is Wilf. He’s still injured. Will Alves, after the Under-21 game, he got a muscle problem. They said to me three or four weeks (out).”