Leicester City Manager Marti Cifuentes Admits "Difficult Call" Over Key Player

Leicester City boss Marti Cifuentes admits he faces a “difficult call” at right-back as club captain Ricardo Pereira works his way back from injury. The Portuguese defender has made an impact from the bench in recent weeks, but his manager is wary of overloading him after a string of fitness setbacks.

Ricardo Pereira’s Return to Action

Ricardo, 31, came off the bench to score the equaliser against Oxford United on Saturday, making it two goals in two games for the Leicester City skipper. Despite his strong form, the defender is yet to start a match this season after suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season.

With James Justin departing for Leeds United earlier this summer, Hamza Choudhury has stepped in at right-back. Ricardo has now made three substitute appearances, with 45 minutes against Oxford marking his longest outing of the campaign so far.

Marti Cifuentes on Managing Ricardo Pereira’s Fitness

Cifuentes admits balancing his captain’s minutes has been tough but stressed that Ricardo’s history of injuries means Leicester need to be cautious.

“He’s a fantastic player, Ricardo,” Cifuentes said. “Not only because he’s our captain and he’s so important in the dressing room, but his quality. His career speaks for itself. He’s got amazing quality.

“What we need to make sure is that we keep him healthy during the season, that we help him to have this continuity that unfortunately last season he couldn’t have.

“It was a difficult call for me as well because Hamza has been doing really well the last couple of games as a full-back and we wanted to keep some continuity to give credit to the guys. We know that Ricardo will be a very important player for us.”

Ricky’s quick-fire impact ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/wRBT9iiOAE

— Leicester City (@LCFC) September 13, 2025

Injury Struggles in Recent Seasons

Last season, Ricardo made just four Premier League starts and 10 league appearances in total. Initially overlooked by Steve Cooper, he later returned only to suffer another serious hamstring injury that sidelined him for four months.

Two seasons ago in the Championship, Leicester managed Ricardo’s minutes carefully, allowing him to feature in 39 of 46 league games. Playing as an inverted full-back — drifting into central areas instead of constantly attacking the flanks — appeared to protect him from further setbacks.

However, when Cooper reintroduced him to the side last October in the same role, Ricardo managed only two starts before injury struck again.