Plastic piece dragging, came off. Necessary?

[WilliamsEC]

My 1997 Legacy was making a rattling noise when I turned the wheel fairly sharply to the right, and it sounded like it was coming from the front of the car. Turns out, there was a fairly substantial flap of plastic dragging. It's about the size of a mud flap, situated just to the front and slightly inside of the passenger side front wheel, and there's a matching one just in front of the driver side front wheel.

 

Can anyone tell me what this plastic was supposed to protect/hold in place? I'm wondering if I need to replace it or if it will be fine until inspection, maybe indefinitely. There are 200,000+ miles on the car.

 

I'm attaching a picture of the piece as it hung, and once it came off in my hand. Sorry for the poor image quality.

 

Thanks for any advice.

[Osei]

Its called an undercover/underguard. Designed to keep crap from the area and to help air flow.

http://opposedforces.com/parts/legacy/us_b11/type_6/body_equipment_exterior/under_guard/

Since you have it, just replace screws and attach.

 

O.