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Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, whose father was known as the Great Dane, played like a dog who’d slipped his leash at times today, in the team’s win over Swansea City.
With the team holding a line much further up the field than we’re used to seeing, he was in something of a sweeper keeper role against Swansea, regularly coming a long way out of his box and occasionally getting scarily close to the half way line. It was a strong performance from the enthusiastic keeper, until he was forced off through injury after 57 minutes.
Thankfully, in his post match interviews, manager Claudio Ranieri has confirmed that the injury is not a serious one and that he should be back after the international break for the Liverpool game.
He revealed that Schmeichel was, in fact, already scheduled for a surgery on Monday to treat a small hernia. He’ll be able to rest it over the international break and there appear to be no worries about his fitness for the trip to Anfield.
CLAUDIO: "@kschmeichel1 has a small hernia. He was due for an operation on Monday, but he should be ready for our next match." #LeiSwa
— Leicester City (@LCFC) August 27, 2016
Phew. Sigh of relief for us fans. Debutant Ron-Robert Zieler looked perfectly capable as a replacement today but Kasper, the club’s vice captain, would have been a big miss nonetheless.
He’s an important presence at the back, and his booming clearances may prove useful if Leicester are put under more pressure by a high-pressing Liverpool side than they were by Swansea today.