Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that Jamie Vardy is suffering without James Maddison, but has still tipped Leicester to finish second.

Vardy has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season, but hasn't found the net since Maddison suffered a hip problem against Aston Villa last month.

Leicester themselves have picked up just four points from their three Premier League games since winning at Villa Park, and were dumped out of the Europa League by Slavia Prague.

Their injury problems went from bad to worse when both Jonny Evans and Harvey Barnes were forced off against Arsenal earlier this month - with the latter expected to be ruled out for at least six weeks following knee surgery.

But Windass believes that Leicester, who lie in third just one point below Manchester United, will avoid a repeat of last season when they collapsed post-lockdown to finish fifth.

He told Football FanCast:

"We're talking about Vardy, Maddison and Barnes. Two out of the three are injured. Yes, Iheanacho scored a wonderful goal against Burnley, but is he going to get you another six or seven goals? I'm not so sure. Maddison is a big miss for Vardy.

"I always had a midfield player or a winger that if they didn't play, I didn't get as many chances, and I think that Jamie Vardy will be thinking, 'come on Maddo, get fit please, quickly'. Nine times out of ten, Vardy's goals come from Maddison.

"But it's a definite that they'll get in the top-four, I actually think they'll get in the top-two."

Maddison and Vardy have struck up an excellent partnership since the former joined from Norwich almost three years ago, and as Windass says, the striker isn't the same without Maddison behind him.

The pair have combined on a number occasions in recent years, and the quicker Maddison returns, the better Leicester's chances are of finishing in the top-four.