World Cup 2022: Brendan Rodgers plays down James Maddison injury worries

James Maddison opened the scoring before going off injured in Leicester's game at West Ham

Brendan Rodgers says his decision to substitute England midfielder James Maddison after just 25 minutes in Leicester's final game before the World Cup was "just precautionary".

The Leicester boss said Maddison, who was called up to England's squad for the Qatar tournament, had a sore knee.

The 25-year-old opened the scoring in Saturday's 2-0 win at West Ham in the Premier League before being taken off.

England's first World Cup group game is against Iran on Monday, 21 November.

Rodgers said: "He's fine. It was just precautionary, a little soreness on the side of the knee. He hasn't trained a lot this week. He's OK.

"It was a difficult day for players going to the World Cup. We've tried to protect them."

Maddison went down shortly after taking a corner at the London Stadium but was able to walk off the pitch after being assessed by the Leicester medical staff.

Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward added: "I think he'll be all right. I think he's OK. He's come in, got his goal. Hopefully, touch wood, all is well and he can show the world what he can do."