Italian coach Enzo Maresca has described the return of Nigeria international defender Wilfred Ndidi to action for Leicester City after months of injury-enforced absence as something good for his side.
The 27-year-old Nigeria international defender has been out injured since December which subsequently ruled him out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) recently concluded in Cote d’Ivoire where the Super Eagles came second behind the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.
But he made a return to the Foxes’ line up in the 1-0 away win against Sunderland on Tuesday as he managed 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute in what was his first appearance since the end of December much to the delight of the club’s travelling fans.
Tuesday’s victory at Sunderland cemented Foxes’ place at the at the top of the English Championship standings with 81 points from 36 matches as Maresca hailed Leicester City’s ability to dig in and secure the three points.
“It’s an important win,” Maresca noted on the club’s website. “Especially after three defeats in a row. Sometimes you have to win games in an ugly way. [In the] first half we were quite good, in the second half we suffered, but in this moment, the win is so important.
“The first half, especially the first half an hour, was unbelievable. We had many chances, we missed and we have struggled to score goals in these games. But at the end, it was important to win the game.”
The 44-year-old manager equally singled out Ghana’s Abdul Fatawu as well as Ndidi a for special mention as he praised the Nigerian return to the team’s line up for the first time since the end of December. Abdul Fatawu, meanwhile, was praised for work both defensively and in attack.
“[In the] first half he was very good on the ball, offensively,” the Italian said on Fatawu.
“I’m very happy. We need him, Wilf (Ndidi) is so important to us so it’s good to have him back,” he added.
