Harvey Barnes injury: Leicester winger’s Euro 2020 hopes over after second knee operation
The 23-year-old had an outside chance of making Gareth Southgate’s 26-man England squad before the latest setback
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Leicester midfielder Harvey Barnes has been ruled out for the rest of the season, ending his slim Euro 2020 hopes. The winger is due to have a second operation on the knee he injured in February.
Barnes, who has scored 13 times for the Premier League club this season, made his England debut in October and there was hope he could feature before the end of the campaign but fresh surgery means he will not return until the summer.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said: “Harvey has had a slight setback, he is just going into have a second, only a minor, operation to clear up some of the damage in his knee. That will rule him out for the rest of the season. The plan is to get him through the second little operation and be back for pre-season.
“It’s a shame because he has been absolutely outstanding for us and we had hoped he would be back to play some part. The most important thing is to get his knee right and get him ready for next season. This was an injury which at best was six weeks but could be up to 12 weeks. He is in his seventh week so it’s just a minor issue around that.
“It was a case of do we deal with it now and let it settle or do we do something about it? He was keen to go down that route but he is positive about getting back.”
The Foxes are third in the Premier League ahead of Friday’s trip to Southampton. Monday’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace lifted them seven points clear of fifth-placed West Ham in the race for the Champions League and three victories from their final five games will book a top-four spot.
“We are looking up, that is what is important and the games are going to be really exciting for us,” Rodgers said. “Our focus is very much on looking up and playing with the identity we have created and knowing anything is possible.”
PA
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