Leicester City’s new manager, Steve Cooper, has confirmed that the team will be without forward Patson Daka for several months following an ankle injury. The 25-year-old Zambian striker underwent surgery after sustaining the injury during Leicester’s final pre-season match against Lens last Saturday.
Cooper, who took over from Enzo Maresca as Leicester’s manager in June, expressed his disappointment at losing Daka for an extended period. “Patson is not great,” Cooper said. “He’s had an operation and will be out for a few months.”
In addition to Daka’s absence, Leicester will also be missing two key players, Jamie Vardy and Conor Coady, in their opening Premier League match against Tottenham on Monday. Vardy, who has been sidelined since the second week of pre-season, is nearing a return but is still some time away from full fitness. Coady, meanwhile, is expected to be out for a few more weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
Leicester City begins their Premier League campaign under the shadow of a potential points deduction due to alleged breaches of the league’s profit and sustainability rules during their last top-flight season. Despite this, Cooper indicated that the club has no immediate plans to sign new players before their match against Spurs at King Power Stadium.
“Every season you want to reinforce, you want to strengthen,” Cooper said. “We’re still going through that process. The club is working together and the communication lines are great. It’s been a slow market. Once I knew this week that there wouldn’t be any additions for Monday, I put that to one side and focused on Monday. That’s the only thing we can influence.”
As Leicester prepares for their return to the Premier League, they will need to navigate these early challenges without several of their key players, relying on the depth of their squad to make a strong start to the season.