Leicester City power man Jamie Vardy to undergo minor groin surgery

Jamie Vardy will be out of action for up to 10 days with the Leicester striker needing minor surgery on a groin problem.

The 28-year-old, who has not scored since the 2-1 win over Chelsea on December 14, has only recently overcome a virus and has also played with a broken wrist and an ankle problem this season.

Vardy will have an operation by Tuesday to repair a minor issue with his groin. It is estimated he will be out of action for the next 7-10 days.

Sky sources have stressed that Leicester have timed the operation so that he misses next Sunday's FA Cup tie with Tottenham, but he is expected to be back available for the Premier League game, also against Spurs, on January 13.

Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri revealed on Saturday that he would rest the club's 15-goal top-scorer when the time was right after a successful but gruelling 2015.

The Italian said ahead of the goalless draw with Bournemouth: "Jamie had a little problem for one or two months and of course he didn't train every day. The last days he's had a fever and he's not 100 per cent."

Title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal face Champions League ties with Dynamo Kiev and Barcelona respectively when that competition resumes in February, while City also have a League Cup semi-final against Stoke to contest.

Leicester, two points behind leaders Arsenal, only have the league and FA Cup to focus on and Ranieri wants the games to pile up for their competitors.

He added: "This is good for us because big teams play in a lot of competitions: the Champions League, the FA Cup, League Cup and Premier League. I want them to continue to win in the Champions League until the end."