Rodgers’ Fitness Update: Ndidi & Benković
- Brendan Rodgers discusses the fitness of his Leicester City squad ahead of their 2019/20 Premier League opener this weekend
- Wilfred Ndidi will be in the matchday squad to face Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rodgers has confirmed
- Ndidi featured for Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations over the summer
Nuno Espírito Santo’s men arrive at King Power Stadium for the 2pm BST kick-off, as City’s 2019/20 top-flight campaign gets underway this weekend.
When asked about the fitness of Ndidi and centre-back Filip Benković, Rodgers was optimistic about their condition after some solid work in pre-season.
“I think both those players have been working very well since they’ve come back,” said the Foxes manager. “Wilf is someone who hasn’t been out for that long.
“He’s been away in the Africa [Cup of] Nations, of course, and was off for just under three weeks. He’s a naturally fit guy and he’ll be in the squad for the weekend.
“Filip, it was just a case of building his fitness up. All the players have come through pre-season really, really well.
“We’ve got no real injury worries. We’ve got one or two little niggles that go back to pre-season, but other than that, we’ve got a really strong squad and we’re all prepared and ready.”
Dennis Praet, a Deadline Day addition to the City squad, was also the topic of conversation during the Northern Irishman’s pre-Wolves press conference on Friday.
Discussing the midfielder’s attributes, Rodgers said: “He’s an outstanding player that fits the profile of player that we want. I felt that we had a lot of defensive midfield players, very good players, but all defensive in their mindset.
“We actually, in terms of what you would call an offensive midfield player, probably had one of those in Youri Tielemans. I felt that we needed another one. I always felt at the end of last season we need two, what you would say would be attacking midfield players.
“Youri we were able to sign, which was great news for everyone, and obviously Dennis was a player that we attracted and looked at. We’re absolutely delighted to sign him.
“He’s the right age and the right profile and we feel that he can continue to develop. Everyone we spoke to held him in real high regards, so we were delighted to get him in and he will really add to our squad.”