Wilfred Ndidi Back To Training, Set For Return

Wilfred Ndidi has been stepping up his comeback from injury as he looks to get a head start before Leicester City players return for pre-season training, Megasportsarena.com reports.

The defensive midfielder missed the final two-and-a-half months of the campaign with a knee injury and in a bid to be fit for the new season, he has been putting in the hard work in Dubai while the rest of his team-mates are on holiday.

Ndidi hurt himself in a 50-50 challenge in the Europa Conference League fixture at Rennes and was forced to undergo knee surgery that saw him miss 16 matches in total at the end of the season, including the Africa Cup of Nations and the Super Eagles World Cup Playoff.

Manager Brendan Rodgers said before the Foxes broke up that Ndidi and fellow long-term injury absentee Ryan Bertrand would be working through the summer in preparation for the squad’s return to Seagrave on June 27. And the Nigerian has been putting in hard yards in the heat of Dubai, where temperatures are getting up to the high 30s.

After working alongside Ndidi, fitness coach Chris Bowman of Elite Sports Performance in the United Arab Emirates said: “Pleasure to assist Wilf with his rehab whilst here in Dubai this last week. Thanks to LCFC becoming the latest club to trust our service Elite Sports Performance with their player and wishing Wilfred the best of luck with the comeback.”

Ndidi’s absence was notable at the end of the season because of the extra workload it placed on others. With Rodgers unwilling to place faith in some of his back-up midfielders, and with Papy Mendy not registered in Europe, there were very few rests for Youri Tielemans and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall as City played twice a week every week throughout April and May, the influential duo visibly tiring towards the end of the campaign.

Albeit, City’s long-standing poor record of results without Ndidi did not continue. In the 19 games he played in the Premier League last season, City picked up 25 points. In the 19 he missed, City earned 27. However, for most of those he was injured, Rodgers did have Wesley Fofana and Jonny Evans available.