Leicester City coach, Brendan Rodgers, has admitted that Wilfried Ndidi is pivotal to his side in their campaign this season.
Since the Nigeria international returned from an adductor injury, which required surgery, he has featured in five matches in all competitions, but went the distance just once – in his most recent game vs Everton.
Ndidi has been building up his match fitness after spending roughly three months on the sidelines.
“We’ve been building Wilf up towards that 90 minutes. He’s pivotal for us. We’ve tried to manage the whole squad, but him in particular, we want to protect him,” Rodgers was quoted as saying by LeicestershireLive.
The Northern Irishman hinted that Ndidi is set to return to his role as a holding midfielder with Jonny Evans back in the squad after serving a one-game ban.
“Jonny is influential in how we work. Wilf was very good but you’re taking a top player out of the midfield, so it’s good to have Jonny back,” Rodgers added.
In his six previous outings against Tottenham Hotspur, Ndidi won two and lost four times while logging 520 minutes.