Leicester City's Super Falcons defender ruled out of clash against Manchester United

LCFC Women manager Lydia Bedford has confirmed that Ashleigh Plumptre will miss the trip to Manchester United on Saturday due to illness, BSNSports.com.ng reports. The Foxes travel up to Leigh Sports Village for the 12pm kick-off against the Red Devils this weekend, aiming to continue their ascent up the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table following a positive February. After helping her country qualify for 2022 African Women’s Cup of Nations last week, Nigeria international Plumptre picked up an illness which ruled her out of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup tie at Chelsea. The defender remains unavailable for selection, alongside former United forward Jess Sigsworth (ACL), while fellow long-term absentee Lachante Paul continues to work her way back to fitness following a knee injury. “That’s generally still the case,” the manager told the media in Wednesday afternoon’s pre-match press conference held at Belvoir Drive. “From the weekend through to now we’ll still be missing Ashleigh Plumptre. “She’s just had an illness that she’s picked up while away on international duty that she hasn’t been able to shift yet, so we’re just prioritising making sure that we don’t rush her back in. But other than that, we remain very similar to last week’s game, which is good.”