LEICESTER City manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that Wilfred Ndidi was dropped from the starting lineup owing to fitness issues and he was not in tiptop condition.
The Nigeria national teamer has been a quality player for Leicester City since his move from Racing Genk but had problems with injury this calender year and was out of form at the start of the season, just like most of the Foxes players.
Ndidi made cameos off the bench in the last three games played by the Foxes in the Premier League and was a non-playing substitute in the Carabao Cup clash with MK Dons nine days ago.
Having missed the back end of last season due to a knee injury, the holding midfielder returned to action at the start of this season, then suffered another injury blow against Nottingham Forest.
Rodgers has given guarantees to Ndidi that he will get more playing time in the coming weeks, adding that the Super Eagles star is looking sharp in training.
When asked at his pre-match press conference how close Ndidi is to starting a game again, Rodgers answered : “We’ve got a really busy schedule in January.
“I had a good sit-down with him and really honest conversation and he knows what he’s been at in terms of the level when I first came in here for a couple of years.
“He has struggled with a number of injuries but it’s just a case of sometimes coming away from the team and working on the training field and just resetting everything.
“I can see that in training that has allowed him to have that freshness back in his game so there’s no doubt over the coming weeks he will be ready to start.”
Ndidi has started seven matches in the Premier League this season and his other start was against Newport County in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Leicester City’s last competitive match this year is at Anfield against Liverpool on Friday, December 30.
