Manchester City have one player they “cannot rest” despite being “exceptionally tired” says Pep Guardiola | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has insisted that he has no other alternatives other than not resting Rico Lewis for Manchester City, despite the defender being “exceptionally tired”.

The teenager has been a mainstay in Manchester City’s defence and midfield for the large majority of the ongoing season, putting in strong performances across all competitions and further highlighting his rapid development under Pep Guardiola.

While Lewis is performing to a high standard, some of his increased opportunities have been down to a slow start from Kyle Walker and concerning performances from the club captain, whilst a knee injury has further heightened dependance on the Academy graduate.

And with injuries mounting in the Manchester City squad, with the tally standing at eight sidelined players following the 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, there is unlikely to be any rest for Rico Lewis any time soon.

Speaking after the contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday night, and yet another start and full 90 minutes for Lewis, Pep Guardiola has insisted that despite wanting to, he is currently unable to rest the 19-year-old.

“I don’t have an alternative,” Guardiola responded when it was pointed out to him that Lewis looks ‘exceptionally tired’ at present.

“My captain (Kyle Walker) is injured. So, I don’t have an alternative,” he continued.

“Rico is the only player we cannot rest. We would like to rest, but we cannot do it,” Guardiola closed.

Fixtures will continue to thick and fast for another one-and-a-half weeks for Manchester City before club duties take a pause for the final international break of the calendar year, with all of their contests coming away from home.

A trip to the south coast to face Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon will be followed up by a clash against Sporting CP in Lisbon next week as Ruben Amorim takes charge of the Portuguese side’s Champions League meeting before joining Manchester United.

The final contest before the international break for Manchester City will see the club travel to Brighton & Hove Albion, with Guardiola hoping that his side can emerge unscathed given their extensive injury list at present.