Rodgers not surprised by Leicester's slump during Ndidi's absence

Leicester City's manager Brendan Rodgers (L) greets Wilfred Ndidi (R)

Monday Mar 09, 2020. 11:00

Brendan Rodgers is not surprised that Leicester City have suffered a slump in form during Wilfred Ndidi’s absence.

The Nigeria international has struggled with a knee injury over the last few months, but looks to have finally made a return to full fitness after playing 60 minutes in the club’s 1-0 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup last week.

Ndidi underwent knee surgery on January 9 after damaging his meniscus in training, but played 56 minutes just 13 days later in the club’s 4-1 win over West Ham United.

The 23-year-old subsequently missed the Foxes next three English Premier League games. Leicester failed to win any of those matches and also suffered a 1-0 loss to Norwich City in their most recent league fixture.

Rodgers believes Leicester’s dip in form during Ndidi’s absence should come as no surprise.

“I’m not surprised, no. We know we are a better team with him in it, there’s no question,” Rodgers told SkySports ahead of their meeting with Aston Villa this evening.

“We’ve got some other really good players in our squad who can come in and do a job, but when you’re without one of the best players in that position in the league, he’s always going to be a miss.

He added: “Some of the guys have come in and done fantastic, and we’ve won games without Wilf, but just in general, he’s irrepressible and what he gives the team and what he allows the others to be able to do.

“It was great for him to get 60 minutes on Wednesday night and hopefully he can stay fit now because he’s very important for us.”

Despite their recent struggles, Leicester still remain in contention for Champions League football next season and head into Monday night’s fixture in third place on the log standings.