Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers admits the availability of Nampalys Mendy is crucial after losing Wilfred Ndidi for the season.

Mendy made just his second start of the campaign on Sunday, impressing at the base of the midfield as City beat Brentford 2-1 to move back into the top half. He had replaced Ndidi in the line-up after the Nigerian limped off at Rennes, with Rodgers revealing in his post-match press conference that he may miss the rest of the season because of a knee problem.

Asked how important Mendy would be in light of the Ndidi news, Rodgers said: “Very. It's just really unfortunate he's not in the European squad. That's the frustration there.

“I thought he was excellent today. He's a player with experience, and he can take the ball. I thought he did great to get through it because he hasn't played a lot of football since the Africa Cup of Nations. But he'll be very important for us."