The German benched Idah for Norwich City’s 2-0 loss to Leicester on Tuesday evening, while Rowe was substituted at half time after a lacklustre opening period.
The duo are both likely to feature in Saturday’s trip to Plymouth, however, after Ashley Barnes’ knee ligament injury in that Foxes defeat.
“On one side I’m very happy with Adam’s performance,” Wagner said, “and he’s shown [against Leicester] as a sub what good form he is in.
“But he played a lot of football, with two starts for Ireland as well. This was one point.
“Another point was that I wanted with Liam (Gibbs) a player who is more used to playing between the lines. Our press was a certain style which normally suits him. This was the idea.
“As I’ve said, we have to and we like to mix it up anyway, but this is why Gibbsy came into the team.”
Rowe started the season in fine form, scoring in five consecutive games before claiming an assist in the 2-1 defeat to Rotherham early this month.
He’s drawn blanks in City’s last two fixtures, however, and was replaced by Przemyslaw Placheta with Norwich 1-0 down.
“Obviously it was not his evening,” Wagner continued. “This can happen, and unfortunately it happened tonight. But this is normal in football.
“I think everybody has seen that he was not on the level he normally is in and out of ball possession. He’s played a lot of football and a lot of games.
“He will start again on Saturday for sure. He played 45 minutes today, maybe he will play more on Saturday.
“We will see, but it’s all about performances. Every player gets his opportunity and has to perform.
“We have a certain depth to our squad. We like to rotate and bring fresh players anyway. Today we started with it and will continue on Saturday for sure.
“This doesn’t change that I have so much trust and belief in Jonny Rowe, and I know what a great player he is.
“But even the greatest players sometimes have a day where it doesn’t figure out for them.”
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