Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers does not expect Ricardo Pereira to be available until October. But James Justin, who started at right-back in place of Ricardo, pleased his manager with how the 22-year-old performed. And with the reigning player of the season recovering for four more months yet, the position will be Justin’s for a while yet, giving Rodgers time to coach him into one of the Premier League’s best young stars.
Brendan Rodgers said “I thought JJ was very good,”He’s a fantastic young defender, stepped up from League One and spent a lot of season not playing. I cannot worry about missing Ricky. He won’t be back until October time. My job is to develop the players we have and I thought JJ from a defensive perspective, he made a great defensive interception toward the end of the first half. That is his strength. And he’s only going to get better from the attacking side of his game. He is different to Ricky. He runs without the ball. And can get in behind their defensive line. It’s only his third Premier League start. I thought he did very, very well.”