Football: All Whites striker Chris Wood preparing for 'emotional' Leicester return

  • 09/11/2018

All Whites striker Chris Wood is expecting a day "filled with emotion" when he and his Burnley teammates travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City on Sunday (NZ time).

The match will be Leicester's first at their home since the tragic helicopter crash two weeks ago outside the team's stadium that killed owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the four other people on board.

A special video will be played before their game, and fans have also planned a tribute march to the ground, while players will wear special jerseys.

For Wood, it will be a special occasion as he spent two years at the Foxes between 2013-15, playing more than 50 games under Srivaddhanaprabha.

"It's going to be a day filled with emotion," said Wood. "Vichai was a great, respected person, both at the club and Leicester in general.

"There will be a lot of emotion around the game and we'll have to deal with that, pay our respects. But once the 90 minutes come we'll have to be ready.

Chris Wood in action for Leicester City.
Chris Wood in action for Leicester City. Photo credit: Reuters

"It definitely hit me. He was a man that talked to everybody, he got to know everybody, and he was a family man. He'd do anything for you, anything he could so yeah it did hit home, someone so close."

Burnley manager Sean Dyche said it has been a difficult week preparing players for the unknown.

"It's certainly something I don't think many will have experienced before," he said. "I had one [occasion] similar but different when [Nottingham Forest owner] Nigel Doughty passed and we were at Watford, and we played Forest the next game.

"It's an odd thing. I don't think you can get them ready for it other than the professional side, which everyone will respect and that's the whistle blows, and we have got to play the game.

"It's kind of touched everyone. I think the connection the owner and his family have with the club and the way they've helped develop the club, and very authentically it seems to me. A real shocking thing to happen."

Burnley are in a slump heading into the match having lost their last three matches and are currently 15th on the Premier League ladder with two wins in their 11 games, while Leicester are tenth with five wins.

Both teams will also were black arm-bands and a two-minute silence will be observed before the match kicks-off. One minute for Srivaddhanaprabha, and one for Remembrance Day.

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