The defender sustained an ankle injury while blocking a shot in training and will miss Sunday’s 13:00 (UK) kick-off at the Joie Stadium.
New recruit Tara O’Hanlon also misses out due to injury, but the boss noted that Laura Blindkilde Brown and Poppy Pritchard were both eligible to play this weekend having signed on deadline day.
Focusing particularly on Blindkilde Brown, Taylor is interested to see how the former Aston Villa midfielder can grow and impact the team in the coming months.
“It’s a shame for Steph because she’s really worked hard, trained well and has been a top leader regardless of playing time,” the boss said of Houghton’s absence.
“She’s so strong in those moments, and great credit to Steph.
“It’s difficult being the skipper and leader for a long time, which can weigh heavy but she does it so well. She’ll be disappointed, but it’s same as normal, she’s putting herself second to the group.
“Hopefully it won’t leave her out for too long.
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“[On Blindkilde Brown] We try and normalise it as much as we can. We don’t overload her with too much information.
“She’s eligible for the weekend but not for the two games after [in the Continental Cup and FA Cup].
“It’s a good period for her to come in and learn what we do. I’m looking forward to seeing how she progresses.”
Named Aston Villa’s Young Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons, Blindkilde Brown has already made over 50 senior appearances in her career despite only turning 20 in September.
Her versatility has seen her play in a number of forward positions for the Villans, but Taylor sees her operating as an attacking midfielder in his City side.
He added: “I think we see her as playing in those attacking midfield positions for us.
“Of course we have certain players when you work with them that can play higher up. Players like Jess Park, Mary Fowler can do that no doubt out wide or as strikers.
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“One of the things that drew me to Laura is the fact she’s so brave in wanting the ball all the time.
“She doesn’t hide and for a young player to have that quality is great.
“What we saw from her is a willingness to receive the ball. Physically as well from someone who’s not got the profile of Jill [Roord]. She takes knocks, runs well and is defensively good as well.
“She has high levels of athleticism as well. I’m looking forward to working with her, and vice versa I’m sure because she saw this as the next step in her development.”
Watch City v Leicester on CITY+
City’s Barclays Women’s Super League clash with Leicester will be broadcast live on CITY+.
Gareth Taylor‘s side welcome the Foxes to the Joie Stadium on Sunday for a 13:00 (UK) kick-off.
We’ll be looking to extend our excellent recent form which has seen us win our last seven matches across all competitions, including five in the WSL.
How will this latest encounter play out?
CITY+ subscribers can tune in for the full 90 minutes simply by logging in and playing the stream ahead of the beginning of the game.
