On 23 September 2012, Nugent scored his first career hat-trick in a 3–1 win against Hull City at the King Power Stadium. Nugent's form continued with further strikes against Bristol City, Watford and Nottingham Forest. During the match against Nottingham Forest, Nugent suffered a neck injury which later was revealed to be a slipped disc. Nugent started the match the following week against Ipswich Town and scored two goals but had to be substituted after half an hour for Jamie Vardy because of the neck injury. Nugent then missed both the matches against Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United. He made his return as a substitute against Derby County. He came off the bench to score two goals to give Leicester a 4–1 win over their East Midlands rivals. He ended 2012–13 as Leicester's top scorer for the second consecutive season.