Pratley, yet to sign a new deal at the Liberty Stadium, pulled the strings in midfield for the Swans and broke the deadlock just before half-time, while a second-half penalty brace from Scott Sinclair handed the hosts a deserved victory.
Rodgers said: "I thought Darren was excellent and he scored a fantastic goal. He's back to his best and I think that spell out of the team helped him.
"He was taken out of the team because he wasn't playing well, simple as that. I expect a lot from Darren and it just wasn't happening for him over a certain period of time. I could have left him in the side and hoped his form came back or I could have taken him out. I chose to take him out.
"He's been fantastic since he came back into the side and he's shown great commitment. He was getting stick from one or two people but he's won them over.
"He loves being at Swansea and you can see that in his performances."
Source: PA
Source: PA