Friday 17 November 2017 16:05, UK
Leicester City boss Claude Puel says Adrien Silva's continued absence is difficult for both player and club but is looking forward to finally having him available in January.
A deal to bring midfielder Silva from Sporting Lisbon was agreed between the clubs over the summer but the paperwork did not reach FIFA's Transfer Matching System until 14 seconds after the transfer deadline passed on August 31.
Leicester had an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejected, while a separate appeal from the player for "urgent provisional measures" to allow him to play on a temporary basis was turned down by CAS on Thursday.
That means Puel must now wait until January before he can consider the Portugal international for selection, something he is already looking ahead to.
"It is difficult for Adrien because he just has training sessions all the time, without an objective and without the possibility to play," Puel said ahead of Saturday's game against Premier League leaders Manchester City at the King Power Stadium.
"It is a pity because we have a good player and no possibility to put him on the pitch but it will be a good thing for the squad to have Adrien with us. We need to prepare Adrien for January.
"It will give us other opportunities for the team, it is important to have a lot of players available.
"We sometimes play every three days, or every two, so we need a lot of players with quality for all these games.
"But there is a possibility for other players [to impress in Silva's absence]."
The daunting encounter against Pep Guardiola's side will be Puel's third game in charge of Leicester since he took over from Craig Shakespeare.
A 2-0 win at home to Everton was followed by a 2-2 draw at Stoke that left the Foxes 12th in the table going into the international break.
Leicester could have been even higher up the league if they had not twice surrendered the lead at the bet365 Stadium and former Southampton manager Puel says it was difficult in the end to settle for a point.
"The win against Everton and the draw after against Stoke - I think that is a good thing," added Puel.
"It was a little disappointing after the Stoke game, because we led 1-0 and 2-1, and it was difficult at the end to accept this draw.
"We can see different aspects in our play and it is promising for our future."
Leicester's game against Manchester City is followed on Friday November 24 by a trip to the London Stadium to face West Ham. Coverage begins on Sky Sports Premier League at 7pm and Sky Sports Main Event at 7:30pm.
