He said: “Yes, we were obviously missing our two best centre-halves this evening, unfortunately.
“My concentration really until I get back is only with the players who are here.
“But, yes, Dedryck would have been fit to play.”
Asked if he felt frustrated on a night where defensive inadequacies proved costly, Rodgers replied: “Yes, of course. He (Boyata) has been with us on the journey now for a couple of years and helped us get to this position and, of course, someone of his quality, a World Cup semi-finalist in our team, would certainly have helped.
“But he wasn’t here and we look at the performance without him and I can’t think any more than that.”
Rodgers admitted it was “very difficult” to get his head around his side’s defending which left them in a Europa League play-off spot where they will play Latvian side Spartaks Jurmala or Lithuanian side Suduva.
He said: “We conceded a soft goal against Livingston and Rosenborg and against Hearts we gave away a goal.
“We are not getting opened up and fantastic goals scored against us, it is concentration and basic defending.
“So, it is hard to get your head around it. I always say you shouldn’t have to lose to learn, but when you do lose you have to learn, so that is our message and we get back to the training field and try to improve.”
He remains confident missing out on the Champions League will not hinder the calibre of player the club can attract.
Rodgers added: “Celtic’s still a fantastic club. The European level, we wanted to be Champions League, but, if not, the Europa League is still a very good competition.
“We want to be in it, of course. Celtic will always attract very good players and that’s something we hope we can do between now and the end of the window.”
