Leicester ace facing six weeks out and requires knee operation after being stretchered off during defeat to Arsenal

Harvey Barnes is expected to be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks with a serious knee injury the Leicester ace suffered in Sunday’s defeat by Arsenal.

Barnes, the England midfielder, crumpled in a heap shortly after the start of the second-half after overstretching for the ball, and was a few minutes later stretchered off the pitch.

The influential playmaker’s withdrawal came just moments before Arsenal completed their comeback win, as Nicolas Pepe netted the Gunners’ third and final goal of their 3-1 victory.

It was confirmed during the match that Barnes had suffered a knee injury, and manager Brendan Rodgers revealed post-game that the midfielder is likely to require surgery and miss more than a month of action.

“It’s not great news,” Rodgers told talkSPORT. “He’s probably going to need an operation on his knee.

“So it will be a minimum of six weeks we think.

“It’s a huge blow for us.”

Having been knocked out the Europa League earlier this week – suffering a shock home defeat to Slavia Prague – and then losing to Arsenal on Sunday, questions are naturally being asked about Leicester.

They collapsed from a position of strength last season to finish the campaign outside the Premier League top four, and could it be that the same thing is happening this year?

Questioned about Leicester’s mood amid their ongoing poor run, Rodgers added: “We’ve always been the same in the two years we have worked together. We have always looked to respond.

“You can go either of two ways: you can feel sorry for yourself with so many influential players out, or we find a way and that’s what we will look to do.”