The Leicester City midfielder has not started a game since hurting his heel on international duty with Wales
14:59, 16 Apr 2026Updated 15:02, 16 Apr 2026
Jordan James is a major doubt for Leicester City’s trip to Portsmouth(Image: Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)
Jordan James’ heel injury is proving “problematic” with Leicester City’s star man a major doubt to start this weekend’s crucial match at Portsmouth.
James picked up the issue on Wales duty, forcing him out of City’s Easter fixtures. He returned as a substitute in the loss to Swansea last weekend and that looked like it would set up for a start against Portsmouth.
But the injury won’t go away, and any time James tries to prove his fitness, the irritation and pain returns.
It means that he’s now a huge doubt to be in the starting line-up when City head to Fratton Park on Saturday lunchtime, with three points a must in their battle to escape the drop.
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“We’ve got a couple we need to monitor to see how they are,” manager Gary Rowett said on the fitness of his squad at his press conference on Thursday.
“JJ is the main one. His heel has still been sore and problematic, which was why I didn’t start him at the weekend. There’s every chance we might still be in that position on Saturday.
“The challenge with the injury he’s got, it’s a sore heel that every time he trains or comes on for 20 minutes, it irritates it and that sets him back a couple of days.
“So he feels good, he has to train to then be available because we need to know that he’s fit and can get through periods of the game, then that maybe sets him back a little bit.
“It’s not a serious injury. It’s just whether he can do himself justice coming on the pitch. That’s vitally important.
“What will the impact of that be? Will that mean he’s then a doubt for Tuesday? It’s all of those decisions that we’ll make with the medical team.
“Coming back from Wales he was really positive. The past few days, he’s not been quite as positive because it’s lingering around and he can still feel it.
“In two, three, four days’ time, he might wake up one morning and it feels absolutely fine. It’s the nature of this type of injury.”
City’s concern over James would be eased if Aaron Ramsey was fit and firing, but the on-loan Burnley midfielder, who has not featured for City in 2026, is in the same position as the Welshman.
Rowett added: “Aaron Ramsey is back training and we’ll assess whether we think he’s fit enough to be involved. He’s another player like JJ that’s got goals in him. You want those options on the bench if you.
“But if players aren’t quite ready, you can’t start them, regardless of the importance of the game, regardless of the situation. Otherwise, we’ll be more or less similar in terms of the squad.”
There are three players who are definitely out for City: centre-backs Ben Nelson and Caleb Okoli, and left-back Victor Kristiansen.
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