Coulibaly, Hermansen – Leicester City injury update ahead of Fulham clash
Woyo Coulibaly is only likely to be involved from the bench on Saturday with paperwork delays ruling the new Leicester City signing out of training on Thursday.
Coulibaly became Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first recruit as manager on Wednesday night when he joined in a deal worth around £3m from Italian side Parma. He watched from the stands as his new side lost 2-0 to Crystal Palace.
With City desperate for a boost defensively, fans would like to see the 25-year-old right-back come straight into the side. But that sounds unlikely.
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At most, it seems like he will be on the bench. He has not yet trained with his new team-mates and will only get one opportunity to do so before City take on Fulham at the King Power Stadium.
“Today he wasn’t able to train with the team yet because we are finalising the paperwork,” van Nistelrooy said at his press conference on Thursday. “We’re waiting on today.
“If he can train tomorrow, we then have to assess him, because it’s one training before a game. We’ll see if we can get him involved in the game for Saturday. That will be the maximum possible.”
But the manager is confident of the impact he can make. On Thursday, he divulged more about what Coulibaly will bring to his side.
Van Nistelrooy said: “He’s a strong, powerful player. He’s very good in one-v-one situations defensively. He’s good on the ball. He can play as a low right-back, he can play in the middle of the pitch, he can play high, so there’s flexibility there in our build-up.
“He has a physical profile that suits the Premier League. He’s an intelligent player and knows about how we want to play and the role of the full-back. It’s a good match.
“He’s a very good character. He’s hard-working. He’s also at an age where he’s at the start of the prime of his career. So we have high hopes for him to do well for us. It’s up to us to support him and make him feel at home so that he can perform immediately.”
With Coulibaly potentially in the squad, that leaves just four City players missing for the clash with Fulham. Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring), Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) and Abdul Fatawu (knee) are long-term absentees, but Mads Hermansen could be back soon. Van Nistelrooy expects to be able to give a date over his number one’s scheduled return next week.
“We don’t have a date yet,” van Nistelrooy said on Hermansen. “It’s a work in progress on his rehab. He’s making small steps in the right direction at the moment. Hopefully some time next week, there can be an update on when he can be back.”
