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The ankle injury that has ruled Demarai Gray out of action for up to six weeks may have come at the worst time, but Leicester City manager Claude Puel believes the young winger is now mature enough to cope.

Gray had established himself in the City starting line-up and was called up to the last England senior squad for the friendly against Switzerland but he twisted his ankle badly in the closing stages of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night to kill his momentum.

The next England squad is announced next Thursday and Gray will definitely miss that and he will face a battle to get back into the City side when he is fit again, but Puel says he has watched the 22-year-old mature over the past year and believes he will come back stronger.

“The injury is not a good thing, but he has been a good influence on our game this season, showing good quality, he’s also had a call for the national team so this is perfect,” said Puel.

“He has handled this in a good way with concentration and stability in his life and on the page, now he’s a natural player and a natural man. I hope we can continue in this way.

“There’s been a lot of improvement since last season.

(Image: Getty)

“Now, he is a good listener, he has the ability to understand and be more patient. He understands what we want on the play. He has a good balance.

“He can also show a different tempo when he needs to keep the ball.

“There is a maturity here, he needs to continue to improve. It’s encouraging for him and for us.“