Leicester's James Maddison and Ben Chilwell 'big doubts' to face Arsenal, says Brendan Rodgers
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Monday 6 July 2020 12:08, UK
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers says James Maddison and Ben Chilwell are both "big doubts" for Tuesday's match against Arsenal.
Maddison missed Saturday's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace with a hip injury, while Chilwell was substituted at half-time after suffering a foot injury at the King Power Stadium.
Rodgers admits the pair could miss the trip to the Emirates, live on Sky Sports, as Leicester look to cement their place in the top four with a win over the Gunners.
"We've got doubts over James Maddison and Ben Chilwell. They're the two that could struggle but we'll see how they are today," said Rodgers at his pre-match press conference.
"We just have to wait and see. There are big doubts over both.
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"Ben's is his plantar fascia, the bottom of his foot, which is giving him pain. We'll just have to assess that and see what the specialists say on it.
"You can play through it but of course there are times you get a real bad pain in it, so it's just trying to manage that.
"They'll both be big doubts for the game but we'll give them maybe a chance."
Maddison and Jamie Vardy both scored in a 2-0 win for Leicester in the reverse fixture in November - a result which contributed to Unai Emery's sacking later that month.
His permanent replacement, Mikel Arteta, has guided Arsenal to four consecutive wins in recent weeks and Rodgers believes the Spaniard is laying the foundations for future success in north London.
"I think Mikel has done very, very well since he's gone in," added Rodgers.
"He's gone into a club with huge expectations, which he knows from being a player there. He's gone in on his first job, into a huge task, and I think how he's dealt with it so far has been outstanding.
"From a tactical perspective, he's made it very clear how they want to play. The style, you can see.
"That is not an easy style to put in place and implement, especially at a club that want to be challenging straight away as well.
"His courage since he's gone in, to want to develop that. They've played with a couple of different systems but the style has always remained the same. That is something that bodes well for the future and for him."
Leicester remain third in the Premier League despite a recent dip in form which has seen them record just one win from five games since the resumption of the season.
Chelsea are just one point behind the Foxes in fourth place, with Manchester United two points further back, but Rodgers is confident his squad can cope with the pressure of the run-in.
When asked if his side could see off the challenge of their rivals and qualify for the Champions League, Rodgers added: "There is absolutely no doubt.
"We've shown over 33 games our talent. Okay, we are maybe missing some players that have helped us along that way but as a squad we're very focused on achieving it.
"We will fight to the very, very last whistle to finish as high as we possibly can."