"Stendardo, who we were looking at bringing on loan, won't be happening," McLeish told the Birmingham Mail.
"Lazio have got a bit of an injury crisis right now. He won't be going anywhere.
"The reason we were considering him on loan and not making a commitment to his club was that we didn't know enough about him.
"I did the diligence on him, I spoke to contacts in Italy and I felt it was right we should try to get him on loan first.
"While I have got a centre-back problem, I have got to commend Liam Ridgewell and Rafael Schmitz. They've done very well together.
"While they are two left-footers and nobody has got any problem playing two right-footers, they have combined well.
"They have been very, very good."