Ruud van Nistelrooy could be given some good news ahead of Leicester City’s FA Cup clash this weekend.
Leicester host Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup Third Round at the King Power Stadium on Saturday in a game that will provide a welcome distraction to the alarming Premier League form.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  WolvesWolves | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 42 | -11 | 16 |
| 18 |  IpswichIpswich | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 18 | 33 | -15 | 15 |
| 19 |  LeicesterLeicester | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 42 | -20 | 14 |
| 20 |  SouthamptonSouthampton | 19 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 39 | -27 | 6 |
The Foxes have lost their last five games in a row and are 19th in the table but have had to play these games without many of their key players.
However, some stars look close to returning and Van Nistelrooy may be handed a welcome boost in preparation for Saturday’s cup clash.
Latest Leicester City injury news includes updates on Mads Hermansen and Jannik Vestergaard
There is hope that Jannik Vestergaard will be fit enough to play on Saturday following his injury.
Vestergaard was subbed against Aston Villa due to injury and Van Nistelrooy said he will be assessed ahead of the weekend.
“We have to assess what happened,” Van Nistelrooy said. “It could have been a knock, it could have been a minor muscle injury, we’ll have to see later in the week how things are.”
Elsewhere, Kasey McAteer could also be available after missing the last four games with injury. McAteer started three of Van Nistelrooy’s first four games in charge but has returned to training in the past few days.
Victor Kristiansen was ill for the Villa defeat and is expected to return but Wilfred Ndidi, Mads Hermansen, Ricardo Pereira and Abdul Fatawu are all still out.
Ruud van Nistelrooy could stick with strong XI for FA Cup clash
The FA Cup is sometimes used by managers as a chance to rotate and give players who aren’t featuring regularly some much-needed gametime.
For Van Nistelrooy and Leicester though, there is the opportunity to do the opposite and breed some confidence back into the side.
On paper, Leicester’s strongest XI should be too strong for QPR. These players need a boost in confidence and giving them the chance to put in a solid performance and book a place in the Fourth Round of the tournament could do exactly that.