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Brendan Rodgers Substituted Wesley Fofana After An Hour Because He Was Fasting For Ramadan

Brendan Rodgers Substituted Wesley Fofana After An Hour Because He Was Fasting For Ramadan

Because of his Ramadan fasting, Wesley Fofana hadn't eaten or drank since sunrise.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed he took defender Wesley Fofana off after an hour in the 3-0 win over West Brom because he is fasting for Ramadan.

The 20-year-old is a devout Muslim and is currently partaking in the Islamic festival, which began just over a week ago.

As part of one of the five pillars of Islam, between daylight hours Muslims will not eat or drink as they show their devotion to their religion and Allah.

It can be a difficult situation to manage for elite level athletes given the demands of their work.

Last night, Fofana hadn't eaten or drank since sunrise and so Rodgers wanted to protect his centre-back by substituting him for Marc Albrighton 60 minutes into the 8pm kick-off and allowing the former Saint-Etienne man to break his fast.

Rodgers has been praised for showing excellent man management skills but the Foxes boss has hailed Fofana for the level he has trained and played at during the period of Ramadan.

As per Leicester Mercury, Rodgers said: "He's fine. He's a young player in the middle of Ramadan, so he's not eating during the day.

"It's remarkable. If you think of his performance at the weekend in an FA Cup semi-final, where he hasn't eaten all day and then he had first taste of food with 15 minutes to go, and then the same today, with an 8pm kick-off, he's not eaten all day or drank and he can still perform to that level.

"It was just one where I thought if I could get him off then he could get some food into him on the bench, and just protect him a little bit.

"I've worked with lots of players with devotion to their faiths and for a lot of the guys it gives them strength.

He's finding an incredible strength to play continuously and train during Ramadan. He's a special talent and a big player for us."

Image: PA
Image: PA

Fofana has been one of the signings of the season and delivered a series of commanding performances at the heart of Leicester's backline.

Last night, he, Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu kept their third clean sheet in four games as a trio as Leicester made easy work of West Brom in the first half.

Strike partners Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho were on target either side of an Evans goal in the opening 36 minutes at the King Power Stadium.

The win moved Leicester into third in the table, four points ahead of Chelsea and West Brom.

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Topics: Leicester City, Football, Wesley Fofana, West Brom, Brendan Rodgers