Leicester City winger Harvey Barnes will miss this year’s European Championship for England after suffering a setback in his return from knee surgery, manager Brendan Rodgers said.
Barnes sustained the injury during Leicester’s 3-1 home Premier League defeat by Arsenal in February, and was initially expected to miss around six weeks.
But Rodgers said the 23-year-old needed another operation that would rule him out for the rest of the season.
“We’ve had a slight setback with Harvey,” Rodgers told a news conference ahead of Friday’s trip to Southampton. “He’s just gone in to have a second, minor operation, to clear up some of the damage in his knee.
“It will probably rule him out for the rest of the season, but the plan is to get him through this and then he’ll be back for pre-season.
“It’s a shame (he will miss the Euros) because he’s been absolutely outstanding. We hoped he’d be back to play some part, but it’s not to be. The most important thing is getting his knee right and ready for next season.”
Barnes, who made his England debut in October, has been one of third-placed Leicester’s most influential players this season with nine goals and four assists in the Premier League.
Leicester trail second-placed Manchester United by five points with five games to play and Rodgers is confident his side can overhaul the deficit.
“The last five games are going to be exciting,” he said. “We’re five points behind United and we’ve still got them to play. Our focus is very much looking up ... to finish as high as we can.”
Leicester will take a part in a social media boycott this weekend as part of the response to continued online racist abuse of players and Rodgers hopes it will have the necessary impact.
“Hopefully it shows we’re not standing for it and ... we can benefit from it,” he added.
