Leicester City fans haven’t had too much to shout about recently as Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side continue to struggle at the bottom of the Premier League.
It’s just two wins in 13 league games since Ruud van Nistelrooy replaced Steve Cooper in the Leicester City dugout in November.
The Foxes’ latest defeat came on Saturday against Arsenal, although the players were able to take some encouragement from their battling display, as it took a late Mikel Merino brace to see the Gunners past.
On Friday night, Van Nistelrooy will hope his side can taste victory in front of the Sky Sports cameras, with Leicester hosting Brentford at the King Power Stadium.
Ahead of the clash, the Leicester manager was able to deliver some news that left the fanbase delighted.
Leicester City fans react as Ricardo Pereira returns to training
Ricardo Pereira played an instrumental role in Leicester winning the Championship title under Enzo Maresca last term.
However, once Cooper replaced the Italian in the dugout, fans questioned why Pereira wasn’t starting more games.
The 31-year-old was on the bench for the first eight matches and then started twice against Nottingham Forest and Ipswich before Pereira suffered a hamstring injury in November, which has kept him out for months.
Luckily, three months on from that major setback, Van Nistelrooy was able to confirm that his Portuguese full-back has returned to training.
This was music to the ears of Leicester fans, who are excited for him to be available as an option to replace James Justin.
“Forgot Ricardo was due back for early March. More great news,” one fan commented.
“Ricardo back? Finally something good within this team,” another replied while a third said: “This is ideal, Coulibaly gets a run of games and hopefully Ricardo gets integrated back in the starting XI before Justin returns.”
“I think Ricardo as RB and then Coulibaly and VK [Victor Kristiansen] rotating at left back is the best situation,” a fifth suggested.
“RICKY PPPPPPPP,” a delighted fan wrote while a seventh commented: “Ricky has to play as a midfielder.”
- READ MORE: Forget Wilfred Ndidi, 28-touch Leicester City star deserves plenty of praise for rock-solid display
Ruud van Nistelrooy shares James Justin injury timeframe
While fans were pleased to see Pereira return to the training pitch, it wasn’t such good news for Justin, who went off injured against Arsenal.
Van Nistelrooy revealed the unpopular right-back could be out for the next few weeks and he hasn’t taken part in training since Saturday’s loss.
Justin has often been criticised by the fans for his lacklustre performances this term but now with the 26-year-old sidelined, Woyo Coulibaly has a chance to nail down the right-back spot before Pereira returns to the squad.