Rico Lewis spent the first half of the campaign in the Manchester City matchday squad after impressing in pre-season, making three appearances in the Premier League, two appearances in the Champions League and one appearance in the EFL Cup.
Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for the 17-year-old, giving him minutes from the bench when possible, but Lewis might not get as much playing time after the World Cup due to Kyle Walker returning from injury.
Vital Man City already predicted that John Stones could be dropped due to the 32-year-old, so Lewis is likely to suffer as well. He was only ever cover at right-back and would have Walker and Joao Cancelo for competition, not to mention Stones and Manuel Akanji being able to operate in the makeshift role, so Pep might prefer tried and tested players as City challenge on all four fronts.
Lewis still has a bright future at the Etihad and may be named in the matchday squad due to a lack of natural backup, but it’s unlikely he’ll get much more playing time unless injury strikes. There might be talk of Lewis being loaned out for a few months in 2023, but he’s pretty much a first-team player anyway.
In other news, Jack Grealish won’t be delighted with World Cup involvement
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