Claude Puel Names 3 Alternatives for Suspended Midfielder Ahead of Newcastle Clash

Leicester city manager Claude Puel has urged his team to collectively cover for Wilfred Ndidi when they face Newcastle at home on Saturday, also naming three players as alternatives for the Nigerian star.

Ndidi will be unavailable for selection this weekend after getting sent off against Brighton last week and will serve the first of his two-game suspension when the Foxes take on Rafa Benitez's Magpies.

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Puel, though, seems confident in his players' ability to cover for the loss, and has said that they could all share Ndidi's responsibility among themselves.

'We have three solutions with [Vicente] Iborra, [Adrien] Silva and [Hamza] Choudhury also available so we will see for Saturday our midfield,'' he said to Leicester's official website. ''It’s different attributes than Wilfred and we have to find the solution to give a collective response.

''Wilfred has attributes to recover a lot of balls, he’s strong in midfield and we cannot replace him with the same attributes but we can replace him with a collective response by sharing this part of the job between all the players.''

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The manager also confirmed midfielder Matty James will be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his Achilles tendon.

“For Matty James, he has had surgery on Tuesday on his Achilles tendon and he will not be available until the end of the season," he revealed. "He will be ready for the next season.

“Of course, it’s difficult but it’s a good thing because he knows what his problem is. It’s not a big problem but now he needs patience and a good recovery. He will be ready for next season.”