Brendan Rodgers offers fresh Matty James update | OneFootball

It’s been nearly two full seasons since Matty James last featured in a Premier League match, with the midfielder suffering from various Achilles tendon issues that required him to have surgery.

The 28-year-old, who has been a part of the Leicester squad since 2012, is now on the club’s official first-team roster and eligible to play as the Foxes attempt to secure Champions League football.

Even though the current Leicester midfield are dealing with injuries to Wilfried Ndidi, Nampalys Mendy, and a Hamza Choudhury suspension, manager Brendan Rodgers admitted it will be difficult for James to break into the team.

“In the first period of the season it was a case that he wasn’t going to be fit enough to be in contention to play,” said Rodgers. “He was recovering from various injuries.

“So for the first six months, we didn’t want to put him under pressure, so we brought him out of the squad, let him get fit and available. Thankfully for Matty he’s been able to do that.

“Now we’re able to include him in the squad. He’s trained and worked very hard in getting fitter all of the time.

“The players in midfield have been first class, so it’s going to be difficult but to have him as a possibility, with the quality that I’ve seen from him, then that makes us happy.

“He’s sustaining his fitness, which is great for him and great for us.

“Between now and the end of the season, we’ll see how that works. He’s played some of the Under-23s games, he played in the last game away at Newport [a 1-0 defeat in an EFL Trophy quarter-final].

“It’s a case of him continuing with that work and seeing where it takes him.”

James is under contract until 2021, having signed a new four-year deal in summer 2017. It’s believed the player is on £32,000-per-week.