Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has provided an update on Facundo Buonanotte after the 19-year-old was an unused substitute for Saturday’s draw at Crystal Palace.
Buonanotte has been one of the bright sparks for Leicester this season and scored his first goal for the Foxes against Aston Villa before the international break.
The 19-year-old on loan from Brighton came off the bench that day, to the confusion of supporters, after he had started games against Tottenham and Fulham.
It had later emerged that the Argentine had been struggling with an injury and that he wasn’t fit enough to start.
Cooper named the attacking midfielder among the subs this time and despite taking a 2-0 lead, the Foxes boss opted not to bring him on and chose to go with a more defensive approach.
Steve Cooper gives promising update on Facundo Buonanotte injury
Buonanotte’s absence was once again the topic of conversation among Leicester supporters – before and after the game – but Cooper revealed post-match that the youngster had been for a scan on the injury that has been causing him problems.
“He had a scan a few days ago,” Cooper said. “Luckily it wasn’t anything too serious and he made the bench today. It was a real pity for him really because he came on against Villa and did well, and has trained well.
“He would have been in contention to start but we had to be cautious with him. He’ll be back in training when we get back in training and will be in contention next week (against Everton).”
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Steve Cooper defends decision to start Wilfred Ndidi ahead of Facundo Buonanotte
For the second game in a row, Cooper opted to play Wilfred Ndidi in the advanced number 10 role.
With Buonanotte not at full fitness, Cooper also seemed reluctant to throw fellow summer signing Bilal El Khannouss into the frame. The latter was also an unused sub,
Supporters were frustrated to see Ndidi start after his uninspiring display there in the defeat to Villa but he soon responded by providing assists for both of Leicester’s goals in the 2-2 draw at Selhurst Park.
Explaining his reasoning for starting Ndidi as a number 10, Cooper stated: “We have the players to make decisions on certain profiles for certain games in certain positions.
“Wilf delivered today. He’s had a long week travelling and there was thought about the international boys, whether they should play or not. But Wilf’s got so many Premier League appearances under him, which doesn’t mean you start a game but we felt today we needed that and luckily it showed.”