“Opportunity to Return”: Steve Cooper Hints at Future Plans for James Justin After Surprise Leicester City Bench
Leicester City faced off against fellow Premier League strugglers Ipswich Town over the weekend.
The Foxes entered the game eager for a vital three points to gain distance from the relegation zone.
Heading into the weekend, Leicester City had just suffered a 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest in their previous Premier League match, which placed them in 15th position.
Their opponents, Ipswich Town, were struggling in 18th place and remained without a win.
Despite what seemed like an opportunity for Leicester to secure an easier victory on paper, they ended up with a disappointing 1-1 draw against Ipswich.
This result left Leicester still sitting 15th in the league table, five points clear of the relegation zone.
In an attempt to shift things around, Leicester manager Steve Cooper made some notable adjustments to his lineup, benching regulars James Justin, a right-back, and Caleb Okoli, a center-back.
Okoli’s absence was surprising given his strong performances since joining Leicester over the summer, but it was the decision to leave out Justin that raised eyebrows.
Justin had been a fixture in the starting lineup, having played every minute of Leicester’s Premier League games this season and featuring in the Carabao Cup loss to Manchester United earlier in the week.
Cooper later addressed the lineup changes, explaining his decision to give both Justin and Okoli a brief rest, suggesting that they would soon rejoin the starting team.
According to Leicestershire Live, Cooper said: “The two that came out, Caleb’s new to the club and JJ’s been here a while.
They’ve played most of the games and played the other night. We’ve got the opportunity to make those changes now.
Sometimes leaving a player out is not them being dropped, it’s about them taking a deep breath and getting them ready to come back in.”
These remarks imply that Justin will likely return to the lineup in the upcoming match against Manchester United.
However, reintroducing Justin to the squad could come with risks for Leicester, especially considering his recent performance against Manchester United.
In their Carabao Cup clash, Justin struggled significantly, contributing to four of United’s five goals.
This wasn’t the first instance of defensive lapses from Justin this season; he has already been at fault for several costly mistakes in the league.
Given his recent difficulties, particularly his struggle against Alejandro Garnacho just days before, it might be a risky move for Cooper to reinstate Justin in the starting lineup for the upcoming fixture against Manchester United.
