It was initially thought that he could recover without surgery but those hopes were scuppered when the hand showed no signs of improvement.

Claudio Ranieri revealed: "Carlo has had an operation and I think it will be a month before he is back. It was unbelievable, he just made a save in training and then, as he pushed his arm down to stand up, it went crack.

"He will now have to recover and each person takes a different amount of time. After three days, however, he can use his hand and work hard. After a month, he can go back into goal."

Neil Sullivan, however, is now back in full training. He is able to take his place in the squad to face Fulham tomorrow, but it is not yet known who will take the goalkeeper's jersey.

Surely it will be Marco Ambrosio, who was instrumental in our 2-0 victory at Bolton last week...