Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana was stretchered off with a possible broken ankle during the Foxes’ pre-season friendly against Villarreal on Wednesday evening. The 20-year-old found himself on the receiving end of a horror challenge in the second half and was left unable to continue.
His suspected injury will be certain to deliver a huge blow to Leicester’s plans for the campaign ahead.
Fofana was caught by a rash tackle from Villarreal forward Fer Nino during the match at the King Power Stadium and immediately looked to be in serious pain.
He was treated on the pitch for around five minutes before the stretcher was called and he left the field of play, with the entire crowd standing to applaud the stricken defender.
His centre-back partner, Caglar Soyuncu, was left visibly distressed by the incident.
Nino went on to score for Villarreal with 14 minutes of the game left to play, with his late finish met by a chorus of boos from many of the Leicester fans in attendance.
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The Foxes went on to win 3-2 after racing into a first-half lead, with their goals coming from Soyuncu, Harvey Barnes and Ayoze Perez.
It remains to be seen how long Fofana will be sidelined for, with the new Premier League season now less than two weeks away.
He featured heavily for Leicester throughout the previous campaign, making 42 appearances in all competitions, but missed the entire month of February with a thigh injury.
Leicester signed Fofana during last summer’s transfer window to replace Harry Maguire after the latter’s move to Manchester United a year earlier.
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The Frenchman joined for a fee in the region of £31m and went on to establish himself as a key player for the Foxes alongside Soyuncu and Jonny Evans at the back.
Leicester boss Rodgers waxed lyrical over Fofana on plenty of occasions last season, suggesting in November that he is capable of going right to the very top.
“When we saw him you could tell within the first minute of watching him, you could tell the talent,” the 48-year-old told reporters.
“This is a boy who has never been involved in any French international youth teams right the way through and he’d only played a small number of games.
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“You see his talent and what he needed was a platform. He’s come into us and he’s been immense. He’s just turned 20. He has everything.
“He’s still learning about the Premier League, the intensity. But what you want from a defender to be aggressive, be strong, be dominant in the air, be quick.
“He’s your ideal footballer. Mentally tough, very coachable, wants to learn. He’s fortunate he’s playing alongside one of the best central defenders in the league.
“We had it last season with Cags [Soyuncu], we’ve had it this year with Wes. What helps them massively is Jonny Evans.”