Jannik Vestergaard’s absence from the Leicester City squad at Chelsea was not because of injury, manager Ruud van Nistelrooy explained.
The centre-back had started City’s previous game against West Ham but did not even travel to Stamford Bridge.
Conor Coady and Luke Thomas were brought into a new-look defence alongside Wout Faes, with Caleb Okoli acting as cover on the bench.
It meant there was no space for Vestergaard in the squad for the first time in a league game under van Nistelrooy.
The only other Premier League fixture he has not featured in during the Dutchman’s tenure was the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, for which he was an unused substitute.
Last week, Vestergaard had been the subject of stories in the national media after he brought his dog to training, with permission. Van Nistelrooy had described the incident as a “non-issue”.
Explaining the absences in his squad at Chelsea, van Nistelrooy said: “There were a couple of players not selected for the squad and they are not injured. It was Kasey McAteer, Jannik Vestergaard and Odsonne Edouard.”
Oliver Skipp was not mentioned by van Nistelrooy as he did travel with the group as the spare man, the £20m midfielder unable to make the bench.
With Ricardo Pereira and Woyo Coulibaly now fit, there will be available senior players who do not make the cut.
There is only one injured player remaining in the City squad, with winger Abdul Fatawu out for the remainder of the season following an ACL tear.
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