Rodgers disappointed by Leicester trio after Covid-19 breach

London (AFP) – Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers admitted he was disappointed by the behaviour of Ayoze Perez, James Maddison and Hamza Choudhury after they were dropped for Sunday’s 3-2 defeat against West Ham after breaching coronavirus protocols.

Perez, Maddison and Choudhury were all missing from the Leicester line-up at the London Stadium.

Rodgers revealed the incident happened last weekend and prompted him to take disciplinary action.

He said the trio will be allowed back into Leicester’s squad next week ahead of their FA Cup semi-final against Southampton at Wembley on April 18.

“It was a decision I made, an internal situation last weekend, It is not the standard we expect. They are all good guys, good lads, but we have a standard on and off the pitch that we have to adhere to,” Rodgers said.

“The boys will rejoin the group after this game. It’s internal, it’s something we have dealt with. The boys, it’s disappointing behaviour, it’s a mistake. It’s not what we are about.

“We have a set of values for the team, for this football club The players in the main have been great but they will rejoin the group next week.”

In the absence of the three players, third placed Leicester suffered a damaging defeat that left them just one point above fourth placed West Ham.

Both team are battling to qualify for next season’s Champions League via a top four finish in the Premier League.

In a statement released during Sunday’s match, Leicester said: “The club has made its expectations around adherence to Covid-19 protocols abundantly clear to all its personnel.

“It is extremely disappointing, therefore, to learn of a breach that had the potential to undermine the efforts of club staff to protect the environments in which our teams train and play. Appropriate measures have been taken to prevent our team bubbles being compromised.

“We wholly expect our people to behave in a way that reflects the national effort and the sacrifices made by our communities to control the spread of the virus. Those involved have apologised for their poor judgement.

“Our response to the matter will be concluded internally.”