Regret as Tielemans misses out on a rest
LEICESTER City manager Brendan Rodgers regrets that it has been “near impossible” to give Youri Tielemans a rest this season.
City play their 39th game of the campaign at Burnley today and Tielemans is in line for his 37th appearance.
Because of Dennis Praet’s injury and City’s inability to bring in a midfield signing during the January transfer window, Tielemans has started City’s last 15 games in all competitions and has played 400 more minutes than the club’s next most-used outfield player.
While Rodgers has praised the Belgian’s influence and mentality, he does admit he would be fresher if he had been able to give him a couple of games rest.
“Youri Tielemans is our only offensive midfield player who is available and as much as I have wanted to, it’s been near impossible to rest him because we just don’t have the depth in our squad,” Rodgers said.
“We don’t have another player within our squad who is an attackingbased midfield player, somebody who can serve the ball with quality.
“A lot of our players are defensive types, especially when you take away James (Maddison) and Dennis (Praet) from the squad.
“He’s a fabulous player. My only feeling with Youri is I’d love to have taken him out.
“You see some of the other teams around us, they can take players out, recover them for a couple of games, then put them back in, even with the best players. That freshness is vital when you play so often.
“Unfortunately with Youri we’ve been unable to do that. He’s a player of big quality and he’s got a great mentality. He goes into every game and gives his all. It’s just unfortunate that I can’t recover him as much as I would like to.”
Equally, Rodgers is pleased that Tielemans’ fitness has still allowed him to make an impact in games, despite his busy schedule.
“I think it’s a testament to how well he looks after himself,” Rodgers added. “He’s a great professional and so reliable. It’s a testament to how motivated he is for every single game he plays.”