Sports News of Saturday, 21 August 2021
Source: goal.com
2021-08-21
Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has praised the performance of Ghana defender Daniel Amartey as the club continues to battle with the fitness of centre-back options Jannik Vestergaard and Jonny Evans.
In the absence of first choice right-centre-half Wesley Fofana, who has been ruled out of action until the New Year following an injury in pre-season, Amartey has emerged as the preferred partner for Caglar Soyuncu in the heart of the Foxes’ defence.
His chances for first-team football was also boosted by the late arrival of new signing Vestergaard and injury to Evans.
“We’ll see [if Vestergaard will be in shape for Monday’s Premier League game]. I was pleased with him coming into the game last weekend,” Rogers said in his teams ahead of the upcoming clash with West Ham United, his club’s official website has reported.
“He showed his class and composure. He’s still obviously not up to speed, fitness-wise, but we’ll assess that over the next couple of days.
“Daniel Amartey’s been outstanding in the games he’s played and he fills in a number of positions for us, but we’ll see where Jannik’s at in the next few days and take it from there.
“He [Evans] out [on the training pitches], but he’s obviously not training with the team. It’s just ongoing with Jonny and the injury. We said at the time we’ll see where he’s at after the international break, but he’s not near to playing as of yet.
“We’ve had experience with other players with it. It’s one of those frustrating injuries and he might wake up in a week’s time and it’s all okay. It’s just one of those ones we have to be patient with. Hopefully we get him back pretty soon.”
Against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Amartey made the most of his rare start for Leicester, putting up an outstanding performance as they registered a 1-0 victory.
He was rewarded with another opportunity in last week’s Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers where Jamie Vardy scored to ensure a 1-0 triumph.
The 26-year-old, who has been invited for Ghana’s upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifying matches against Ethiopia and South Africa, is currently in his sixth season with the Foxes.