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Ricardo Pereira to make Leicester return against Zorya Luhansk with Jamie Vardy left at home

Ricardo Pereira of Leicester City at full time of the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Leicester City and Birmingham City  - Getty Images
Ricardo Pereira of Leicester City at full time of the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Leicester City and Birmingham City - Getty Images

Brendan Rodgers has left Jamie Vardy and three other senior Leicester players at home as he prepares to welcome back Ricardo Pereira from injury.

With qualification for the Europa League knockout stages already secured, Rodgers is giving Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel, Youri Tielemans and Jonny Evans a chance to recharge ahead of Sunday’s trip to Sheffield United.

Leicester face Zorya Luhansk in their fifth European tie, with a flight time to Ukraine of nearly four hours, and Rodgers has taken the opportunity to rest a number of experienced players.

“It’s a season that we’re really enjoying, with the challenge of the games being so close, but of course there is a physical load on a lot of the players,” he said.

“We want Jamie fresh for the weekend, so he hasn’t travelled.

“Jonny, Kasper and Youri have played a number of games, and international games as well, and you have to consider the travel that goes along with that as well.

“To give them some respite from travel is important and it felt right to give them a rest.

“We can give them the opportunity to rest because from time to time I’ve seen that little bit of tiredness because some of the players are having to play so much. We may have qualified but we’re not taking the game lightly.”

Leicester are set for a huge boost, however, with Pereira, Caglar Soyuncu and Wilfred Ndidi all expected to play some part against Luhansk.

Rodgers has been without Pereira since March 9 after the wing-back suffered a serious knee injury in the 4-0 victory over Aston Villa in the Premier League.

Soyuncu, the Turkey international, has not played since October 4 and is also in line to play, while Ndidi has missed over two months, with both players suffering abductor tears.

Rodgers said: “Ricardo is really excited about coming back and we’ll look to give him up to 75 minutes.

“He’s one of the best full-backs in European football and it’s great to see him back.

“I’m also really looking forward to seeing Soyuncu and Wilf play and hopefully they can get through as much of the game as they can.

“The players have done amazing up until now but to have the level of player coming back can make us super-competitive. It gives us a really exciting squad."

Leicester will guarantee first place in Group G with a win over Luhansk, who are bottom of the table.