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Claudio Ranieri upbeat despite conceding late penalty

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Claudio Ranieri accepts the late penalty that was awarded to Tottenham and is hopeful Jamie Vardy will available for Wednesday's match

Claudio Ranieri was upbeat despite his side conceding an 89th minute penalty that earned Tottenham an FA Cup third-round replay.

The Foxes had edged ahead at White Hart Lane after goals from Marcin Wasilewski and Shinji Okazaki overturned Christian Eriksen's eighth-minute strike, but Harry Kane dispatched a late spot-kick to force a replay at the King Power Stadium.

Leicester travel back to north London next week when they face Spurs again on Wednesday, and despite eight changes to the team from the goalless draw against Bournemouth, Ranieri's high-flying side impressed again on Sunday afternoon.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10:  Harry Kane of Spurs scores a late penalty to level the scores at 2-2 during The Emirates FA Cup third round match between To
Image: Harry Kane scores a penalty to level the scores at 2-2 late on

But after the late drama, Ranieri admitted his side were disappointed not to seal their passage to the fourth round.

Asked if the draw felt like a a defeat, the Foxes manager said: "Yes, of course because there were very few minutes at the end of the match and there was this penalty.

"I didn't see the penalty because there were two players in front of me and I don't know if they touched, but the more important thing was the referee gave this penalty."

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10:  Shinji Okazaki (L) of Leicester City celebrates with teammate Demarai Gray
Image: Shinji Okazaki (left) celebrates with teammate Demarai Gray after putting Leicester ahead

The replay means Leicester will now face Spurs three times in a condensed January calendar, but the Italian was pleased to take the positives from the game.

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He added: "It is another match we will play and I'm very glad to give another chance to my eight players who aren't used to playing consistently.

"It is is good for them and me to watch again because they didn't play since the last match we played in the League Cup. Eight new players [in the team] but I didn't see a big difference. They played very, very well."

"Two-two is a positive result, well done!"

Ranieri also revealed that Jamie Vardy, who has undergone successful groin surgery, could be available to face Spurs on Wednesday.

"At the moment it's 50-50," Ranieri said."He had some training with the physio, tomorrow he will be with us in the warm-up, and then Tuesday will be the last training session to see."

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