Perhaps no team in the Premier League is currently more of a “must-watch” than Leicester City — unless, of course, you love a good car crash; in that case, Chelsea is the club for you.
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That distinction is one-half “they’re third in the league, how long can this possibly continue,” and one-half the fact that Jamie Vardy couldn’t stop scoring goals right now if his life depending on it. Vardy’s current scoring run — 11 goals in Leicester’s last nine league games, which includes at least one goal scored in each of the nine — places the 28-year-old recent England debutant on the precipice of history, as a goal against Newcastle United on Saturday (Watch live at 10 a.m. ET on Live Extra) would tied Ruud van Nistelrooy’s PL record with a goal in 10 straight games.
Unfortunately for Vardy, his pursuit of Van Nistelrooy’s record remains in doubt less than 48 hours ahead of Saturday’s kickoff. A hip injury, which kept him out of the England squad for friendlies this week against Spain and France, is threatening to rule Vardy out of contention for his shot at history.
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, on Vardy’s availability — quotes from the Guardian:
“Today he trained a little and tomorrow I hope he can continue to train. Maybe on Saturday morning I’ll choose. If he is fit he plays because every time he wants to play.
“I hope he is available. I speak with the doctor and the physio, if they tell me he is okay and 100 percent, he plays. If not, I don’t want to risk a player – not just Jamie. In all my career I don’t want to risk a player for a match and then lose them for a month.”
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If Vardy is unable to play on Saturday, his scoring record would remain intact, though a different qualifier would be applied: he would then be chasing the record for goals scored in consecutive appearances by an individual in England’s top division — currently 15, by Stan Mortensen of Blackpool (1950-51) in the old Division One.
Here’s to Vardy’s good health — and that of every other player in the league, of course — because watching someone break records and make history remains one of the most enjoyable parts of watching sports.
