Leicester City are missing the glue of the side while Jonny Evans is unavailable, winger Harvey Barnes believes. Evans has not played since the FA Cup final in May as he struggles with ligament pain in his foot. He is back in training but not yet working alongside his team-mates. Without him, City are missing the defender who makes sure nobody else switches off, Barnes says, even if Brendan Rodgers’ side have managed clean sheets in their opening two games of the season.
Harvey Barnes said: “Jonny’s so important for us. He glues the back four or five together, he’s very vocal. His standards are very high. That’s from the Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] era [at Manchester United] and that’s just embedded into him. We have a young squad so to have a player like Jonny keeping everyone on a bit of a leash, making sure no one’s switching off for a half-second, it’s important. It will be good to get him back.”
He’s not the only defender currently on the sidelines, with James Justin nearing a comeback from a knee injury, Ryan Bertrand out after testing positive for Covid-19, and with Wesley Fofana just starting his recovery from a broken fibula and ankle ligament damage suffered against Villarreal in pre-season. Barnes was on the pitch at the time of Fofana’s injury and said his heart went out to the Frenchman, particularly with his own recovery fresh in the memory, the winger only just back from three months out with a knee problem.
Harvey Barnes said: “It’s horrible being on the pitch and seeing it. I don’t think by any means the lad’s meant to cause that sort of injury but you still make that tackle and that’s the consequence of it. It’s distressing, but then also you wake up in the morning and think he could be God knows how long out. It’s months and months of rehab. I feel for him, especially myself just coming back from a long injury. I know what he’s going to be thinking about and it’s not easy. He’s got a great character, sending us all pictures that night smiling away and saying: ‘Don’t worry.’ He’s a good lad, he’ll come back stronger, but he’s a big loss for the team. [Jannik Vestergaard] is going to be a great replacement for him this year. He’s got lots of qualities [but is a] different player to Wes.”
Although City’s defence may have injuries, they have the ever-present Kasper Schmeichel behind them, who is still as loud and encouraging as ever.
Harvey Barnes added: “Kasper is also very vocal. As much as sometimes you don’t want to hear it if it’s aimed at you, it is important. Kasper won’t let people get away with things. A lot of the time it’s constructive and encouraging. You need leaders.”
