“I’M SHELLSHOCKED!” Rowett DROPS man-of-the-match Winks for Bristol City after Ipswich masterclass—but the THREE WORDS the axed star whispered in private left gaffer FROZEN and fighting back tears!

Gary Rowett felt Harry Winks’ response to being dropped showed his care for Leicester City.

Rowett surprisingly left Winks out of his starting line-up on Tuesday night, the midfielder coming on as a substitute to help see out the 2-0 win over Bristol City.

That’s despite a man-of-the-match performance against Ipswich at the weekend, and with the midfielder quickly establishing himself as a key City player again following his exile under Marti Cifuentes.

Rowett left Winks out in order to select a more attacking option in Jordan James, and with Oliver Skipp better able to cover the back four defensively at the base of midfield.

Having Winks, and the likes of Ricardo Pereira and Divine Mukasa, as substitutes also allowed Rowett to bring on more technical players for the final 20 minutes as part of his “two teams” approach.

Rowett told Winks ahead of time that he would not be in the starting line-up to face the Robins, and the manager was impressed with the midfielder’s response.

“I spoke to Winksy, I spoke to Ricardo, I spoke to Pato (Daka),” Rowett said. “I’ll always speak to players and explain my reasoning.

“Winksy was a really interesting one because certainly in the first four games, he’s been our best player in possession of the ball.

“I just felt I wanted to play with two eights and I wanted to test them (Bristol City) in a different way. I felt it needed someone with more defensive diligence (Skipp) at the heart of our midfield.

“He (Winks) understood that. He said it to me: ‘All that matters is that we win.’ I’ve seen it with the way he scored against Stoke, I’ve seen it with the way he came on today, he was fantastic and he cares. He does want to really finish the season strongly.

“I thought Skippy was outstanding. There was one moment where he sprinted back and made a header at the back post that saved an opportunity. It’s moments like that that win you games of football. He was outstanding.”

It had initially seemed that Winks was playing out the final few games of his City career over these next couple of months, but it has now emerged that may not necessarily be the case.

A clause in the midfielder’s contract saw an extra year added to his deal upon promotion in 2024, and so he is tied to the King Power Stadium until 2027.

It means he will either continue to represent the club next term, or will be sold for a fee this summer.