Leicester full-back Ricardo Pereira ruled out for the rest of the season

Leicester right-back Ricardo Pereira will be out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, boss Brendan Rodgers has revealed.

The Portugal international has suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage and is expected to be sidelined for four to six months.

Pereira has started all but one of the Foxes’ 29 Premier League matches so far this season.

Rodgers was quoted by the Leicester Mercury as saying at his press conference ahead of Saturday’s trip to Watford: “We’ve got Ricardo Pereira who will be out for the rest of the season.

“He had a challenge and has hurt his ACL. He’s not had an operation. He’s just with the medical team. It’s a blow for us. It’s an opportunity for someone else. It’s a shame.

“You’ve just got to see how the player reacts. You’re looking between four to six months. That will be the time we are expecting.”

Rodgers – who has said three of his players have shown symptoms of the coronavirus and are being kept away from the squad – also reported that England midfielder James Maddison is set to be out “for a few weeks, until after the international break” due to tightness in his calf, adding “it’s not too serious”.

Left-back Ben Chilwell, Maddison’s team-mate for club and country, is available again having returned to training after missing Monday’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa because of a hamstring problem.

Rodgers also said Jamie Vardy “had a slight knock but should be fine”. The striker came off the bench and scored twice against Villa to take his Premier League goals tally to 99.