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‘One of the worst challenges I’ve ever seen on a football pitch’: Brendan Rodgers fumes at Wolves U18 defender Caden Voice’s HORROR tackle which left Leicester and England youth prospect Will Alves facing nine months out with damage to the anterior cruciate ligament
- The teenager was on the receiving end of a nasty tackle in an FA Youth Cup tie.
- Will Alves, very considerate, announced that he would be out for an extended period
- Brendan Rodgers, who had played him in MK Dons, was infuriated by the severity of the tackle.
Brendan Rodgers has raged at a challenge that has left one of Leicester City’s brightest prospects facing the better part of a year on the sidelines.
Will Alves, who had broken into the first team in their 3-0 win at MK Dons in the Carabao Cup the night before, was on the receiving end of a brutal onslaught from Wolves youth team player Caden Voice.
His teammates realized the severity of the incident immediately as they ran to confront the Wolves player. His leg seemed to almost make a stomping motion on Alves’s knee.
Leicester star Will Alves took a brutal lunge from Wolves’ Caden Voice
The 17-year-old took to Instagram to confirm the worst fears of those connected to the club that he had suffered an ACL injury as a result of the challenge.
“A week full of ups and downs, devastated to announce that I have torn my ACL,” he said.
“I will give everything to return to the field to do what I like the most. I will come back stronger.
The Leicester teenager, who came on for the week at MK Dons, faces a prolonged spell.
Rodgers, meanwhile, was more scathing in his assessment of the situation, declaring the challenge “one of the worst” he’s seen in his career.
“It’s sad for us,” Rodgers said. “We lost one of our young talents, Will Alves, who came into the MK Dons game.
‘He wanted to play in the Youth Cup match the next night and he played in that. They passed in the tie, our Under-18s, but they got it out with one of the worst tackles I’ve seen on a soccer field.
“It’s a shame for a 17-year-old young player, who is really making his way in the game and making his mark in training and the way he’s been.”
‘It’s really disappointing for us. We wish him a speedy recovery on his return. It will be the rest of the season so he will be out.
“Her rehabilitation will start in the next few weeks and she will have an operation after that.”
ACL injuries are notoriously difficult to overcome, with the road back to a level somewhat resembling where you were at a long and arduous one.
Brendan Rodgers criticized the challenge, declaring it one of the worst he has ever seen on the field.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, himself a product of the Leicester academy, offered his support to the devastated youngster, saying his support was there should it be needed.
‘Get well soon mate. Support here if you need it,’ he said.
Meanwhile, Alves’ own youth teammates said the Voice deserved more than the red card punishment he received.