Super Eagles midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, was rested by Leicester City in their 4-2 defeat against Everton so that he can be fresh for the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against Atletico Madrid in midweek.
The 20-year-old has become a huge success story for the Foxes since he joined from Genk during the January transfer window.
However, with the game against Atletico Madrid coming up on Wednesday, manager Craig Shakespeare decided to give the Nigerian a deserved rest after playing every single minute in the premier league for Leicester since he joined.
Shakespeare tried to play the absence of the Nigerian down in his post match interview.
He explained: “I think the team selection was with the games coming up in mind. We’ve got a lot coming up – Wednesday, Saturday and Tuesday – but we’ve got a good squad.
“Players have had to be patient and the idea was that whichever team we field who try to be competitive and try to win the game. We didn’t come to try to get a point, the team was picked to try to get three points. The selection was about squad rotation more than anything else.
“Footballers are resilient. I’ve just said to them in there that we have been on a good run, but we need to start again now and go on another run.”