Shakespeare ponders Morgan gamble for Atletico clash
Leicester City's English-born Jamaican defender Wes Morgan (right) holds up Leicester City's Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi as they celebrate their victory at the final whistle during their Uefa Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Sevilla at the King Power Stadium on March 14, 2017. PHOTO | OLI SCARFF |
What you need to know:
- The Leicester captain has missed the last five matches due to a back injury and he is far from certain to recover in time for the English champions' bid to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Atletico.
- Complicating the issue is Robert Huth's suspension, which rules the German defender out of the second leg and leaves Yohan Benalouane as Leicester's only available centre-back.
LONDON
Leicester City manager Craig Shakespeare will wait until the last minute before deciding whether to gamble on Wes Morgan's fitness in Tuesday's decisive Champions League showdown with Atletico Madrid.
Shakespeare faces a selection dilemma for the quarter-final second leg at the King Power Stadium after Leicester defender Morgan was ruled out of his side's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Leicester captain has missed the last five matches due to a back injury and he is far from certain to recover in time for the English champions' bid to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit against Atletico.
Complicating the issue is Robert Huth's suspension, which rules the German defender out of the second leg and leaves Yohan Benalouane as Leicester's only available centre-back.
Shakespeare is not prepared to risk Morgan if he fails to prove his fitness, but he conceded he will wait as long as possible in the hope the 33-year-old can feature against the Spanish club.
"We'll only put him in if he's ready. The conversation will be with Wes and our medical department and we'll give him every opportunity between now and then but if he's not ready we won't take a gamble," Shakespeare said.
"He's trained yesterday, not all with the squad, but I have said before it will be 50-50 for Atletico Madrid."
