Enzo Maresca explained why he chose to take off Romeo Lavia against Nottingham Forest.
The Belgian midfielder made way for Moises Caicedo, whom Maresca has wanted to protect to avoid injuries after he was on international duty for **Ecuador**with a lot of previous playing time in his legs.
For the head coach, Lavia is a player whom he would love to use more: his passing and dribbling from the base of the midfield are at a level that make him a unique asset in the squad. However, his injury record means that caution is advisable to build belief of the player in his physical durability.
A similar story applies to Wesley Fofana, who has endured rotten luck with injuries in West London, and fellow defender Reece James is a testament to what can happen with careful rehabilitation.
“I always try to do my best. Sometimes I'm wrong, sometimes I'm right. But in this moment, it's more about protecting players. We already knew that Romeo was not going to play 90 minutes.
“Romeo: the plan was 45 minutes. Moises Caicedo cannot play 90 minutes. The decision was start with Moi or Romeo. Romeo needs confidence, needs boost, he needs to start game. So that was plan.
*“Wes is the same as Josh. I said many times that I really like Wes and he's going to play games but was just to protect him to be available for Ajax. Yeah. In general I think with Wes what do we need to do with Reece. Now, Reece is playing three games a week. He's playing almost every game. He's fit.*
“He's good. And we need to try to do exactly the same with Wes and Romeo. I would love to have on the pitch every game Romeo, Wes, Reece, but it's not possible. It's not possible. We need to manage them. And the main target this season is to try to rotate and keep all of them fit.”