Jeffrey Schlupp 23-year-old could miss Sunday’s Premier League visit of Southampton with injury, after returning from international duty

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has revealed that winger Jeffrey Schlupp is suffering from a swollen knee after playing on “a hard pitch” during the international break.

Schlupp was among 16 Foxes summoned for national duty during the period.

The winger was a second-half substitute in Ghana’s 3-1 defeat of Mozambique in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations first leg qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on March 24, before lasting the entire duration of the return encounter at the Estadio do Zimpeto in Maputo three days later.

“Jeff Schlupp has a problem,” Ranieri told reporters ahead of Leicester’s clash with Southampton at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.

“He has a swollen knee because it was a hard pitch.”

The break also produced a club record of the most number of Leicester players to have started and scored for their national teams on the same day.

Nine players started on Tuesday, with three finding the back of the net.

“That is good when they go in the national team,” Ranieri added.

“I’m a little worried on long journeys, maybe some injury, but when they come back and everybody is okay, I’m very happy because they deserved to be in the national team.

“When the players come from around the world, it’s important now to compact everything.

“There’s a good atmosphere and that is good before the match, but after, you have to be very focused.”

Leicester currently hold a four-point lead at the top of the league standings.