Kelechi Iheanacho could have a hand in Leicester’s clash with Brighton

Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho could feature against Brighton despite suffering a broken hand on international duty.

Iheanacho sustained the injury while he was away with Nigeria. He started his country’s victory in Poland last week but was absent from the squad for the 2-0 defeat to Serbia at Barnet on Tuesday night.

The 21-year-old returned to Leicester on Thursday and Foxes boss Claude Puel confirmed the injury at his pre-match press conference, although he said the problem would be assessed to see if he could still play.

“We will see about Iheanacho because he has a broken hand,” said Puel. “We will see if he can play with his injury. We will see tomorrow (Friday) in the training session.

“I think he fell. It’s not an important injury. We will see if this injury prevents him from playing in this game. Perhaps it might be strange for him to play with a cast.”

Jamie Vardy and Harry Maguire both returned from international duty with England fit and well and will play against Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.

There were doubts about Maguire after he was left out against Italy this week as a precaution after limping off late in the victory over Holland.

The defender was supposed to start the match on Tuesday night at Wembley but Puel was relieved to learn that the issue was merely cramp.

However, Matty James will not be available as he continues to struggle with a sore Achilles tendon.

The midfielder has already missed a large chunk of the season with an Achilles problem and he looks set for another spell on the sidelines.

“Matty felt something in his tendon and we will see when he can come back,” Puel said.