Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers has commented on the return of James Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury this weekend.
The trio were excluded from the squad for last week’s 3-2 defeat against West Ham United, having breached COVID-19 regulations.
Rodgers confirmed before the West Ham game that all three players would return for the FA Cup semi-final clash with Southampton.
Ahead of the game, the Foxes’ boss has spoken about the reaction of all three players upon returning to group training.
“We dealt with it last week when they trained separately,” Rodgers explained, as quoted by the Leicester Mercury.
“We had a meeting at the beginning of this week. We accepted their apology. They were sincere – they knew they made a mistake.
“They knew they overstepped the mark. What I know is that in the working of our team, they gave that apology to me and the rest of their teammates.
“We all make mistakes. They were punished for it. We have to move on. We suffered for it – they suffered for it.
“It’s a really exciting period, and they are available. They know they have to focus for the rest of the season.”
SL View – Did Leicester handle the situation correctly?
Leicester should certainly be commended for their stern treatment of Maddison, Perez and Choudhury last week.
While their exclusion may have contributed to the defeat at West Ham, COVID-19 protocols have been broken by multiple players in the Premier League this season.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Aaron Connolly was disciplined last month for inviting a woman into the accommodation he had been staying at.
Leicester’s treatment of the trio will send a message to everyone within the squad that such breaches will not be tolerated.
Now, it will be up to the players in question to earn the forgiveness of their fans with a good performance against Southampton on Sunday.
Read Also: Tottenham and Leicester scouting Mikkel Damsgaard.
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