Leicester defender Wes Morgan ready for return to Premier League action

Leicester skipper Wes Morgan could make his first Premier League appearance since New Year’s Day against Stoke on Saturday after suffering no ill-effects on his return from injury.

The 34-year-old, who captained the Foxes to their shock title victory two seasons ago, lined up against Sheffield United in the FA Cup fifth round last Friday evening to signal the end of his lay-off with a hamstring problem.

Now manager Claude Puel has revealed he is in contention to resume in the league for the first time since the 3-0 win over Huddersfield on January 1, although he faces stiff competition.

Puel said at his pre-match press conference: “[Morgan] is available to play this game – but after, we will see. We have a lot of games to come.

“It is good to see our captain again at a good level. I was happy with [Aleksandar] Dragovic and [Yohan] Benalouane, for example.

“We have a squad with good competition between players. All this competition pushes the players to bid for their place and it is a good thing.

“It is important and, when available, he is a valuable player for us. But I am happy for all the players in the squad because we have good competition in defence, midfield and attack.”

Meanwhile, Puel also said striker Shinji Okazaki will resume full training next week after three weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury.

He said: “Shinji comes back next week in normal training. Everybody else is fine.”