James Maddison has called for further action after Leicester City youth prospect Will Alves was left seriously injured by an “horrific” tackle. Alves tore his ACL after a studs-up tackle on his knee during City’s 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Youth Cup. Wolves defender Caden Voice was sent off for the challenge and Alves is set to miss the rest of the season. The 17-year-old had been handed his second senior appearance this week by Brendan Rodgers, in the Carabao Cup win over MK Dons.
Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s a sad one for us. We lost one of our young talents, Will Alves, who came on in the MK Dons game. He wanted to play in the Youth Cup game the night after and played in that. They went through in the tie, our Under-18s, but he was taken out with one of the worst challenges I’ve seen on a football field.”
Maddison joined Rodgers and a number of other players in criticising the challenge, while offering their support to Alves. The England international took to social media,
James Maddison said: “Wasn’t sure whether to comment on this publicly but feel like it really needs to be looked at. This tackle is not acceptable in any way. I’m devastated for young Will. A brilliant kid with a bright future now having to recover from this horrific challenge.”
