Leicester City effectively ended their 1-1 stalemate against Portsmouth with 10 men, according to manager Marti Cifuentes, who cited injuries and fatigue as key reasons behind their sluggish second-half performance.
Cifuentes disclosed after the match that substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid sustained a hamstring problem not long after coming on, but was forced to continue playing since City had already used all their substitutions.
The Jamaican attacker was one of the final players to rejoin the squad from international duty and had minimal training time before the fixture.
Cifuentes hinted that he was compelled to rotate more than he preferred, with Jordan James showing signs of exhaustion following his commitments with Wales, while Aaron Ramsey was making his first start in over a month.
Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew, who also travelled long distances during the international break, were among those introduced from the bench, but none of the substitutions managed to shift the momentum in City’s favour.
After one of their most impressive first halves of the season, the Foxes lost their rhythm after the interval, conceding an equaliser and failing to muster enough creativity to find a winning goal.
Cifuentes said: “Unfortunately, the last 15 minutes, Bobby felt something in his hamstring, so we were playing with 10 men. He couldn’t sprint.
“We had to take out JJ because he was feeling tired because of the game with Wales. The same with Aaron, it was his first start in a while.
“So it was a little combination of things, but I’m very critical and the second half should have been much better.”
De Cordova-Reid is now a doubt for Tuesday’s clash with Hull, with City facing a quick turnaround to prepare for their next outing.
Stephy Mavididi, who has now sat out two matches due to a hamstring issue, may be pushing for a return to the squad at Hull, though it could still be premature for him to start.