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Opinion: Did Brendan Rodgers hint in February that Ryan Bennett may struggle for games?

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Ryan Bennett joined Leicester City on loan in January and had the option to turn the move permanent if he made a set amount of appearances. The 30-year-old failed to amass a single minute of playing time before the season was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, but did Brendan Rodgers drop a hint in February that this may be the case?

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After the winter break, Rodgers said of Bennett to Leicester’s official website: “Jonny (Evans) and Çağs (Çağlar Söyüncü) have been outstanding this season and, with Wes (Morgan) as cover, we wanted Filip (Benković) to get minutes. For that, we needed someone to come in to be a part of our squad. He fits the bill, he’s a warrior, he knows the game and he defends well.

“He’s there to push the players who are playing and he’s comfortable in a number of systems. He won’t be able to play against Wolves because that’s his team, but after that, he’ll be ready to play. He’s come in to support us and for us to work with him. He’s a good guy and he’s a top-class player that’s really going to support the squad.”

Rodgers describes the 30-year-old as somebody who can “be a part of (the) squad” and “push (those) who are playing”, rather than actually getting on the pitch. The Leicester manager frequently spoke about Bennett supporting the squad, which suggests his role may not have been to play but to be a last resort.

The former England u21 international failed to make City’s matchday squad in any of the six games played before the season was postponed, so it seemed Rodgers didn’t anticipate actually giving him minutes. And for Christian Fuchs to be used as a makeshift centre-back over Bennett in Leicester’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester City, he couldn’t be further down the pecking order.

Many questions were asked about Bennett’s omission from the squad, but Rodgers may have foreshadowed his absence from the start.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.