“We’ve Treated Him Carefully.” – Liverpool Using History To Take Care In Managing Star Winger | OneFootball

Rio Ngumoha has been the noticeable light in a dark period in Liverpool’s season as the pressure mounts on Arne Slot to change the fortunes of his squad. 
After a man-of-the-match performance and a clear dip in performance when taken off against Spurs, fans have been calling for Liverpool’s biggest prospect to start more games for the Reds.

However, Slot argues the 17-year-old playing the most minutes of any player under the age of 18 in the Premier League, with 192 across 12 appearances, is already plenty at his age. 



Noticeably, his direct dribbling, explosiveness and lack of fear in one-on-one situations are assets of his game that led to Gary Lineker saying he reminded him of Mbappe. 
So, if everyone can see he is one of the best talents in England, why is Arne Slot starting Cody Gakpo in what many fans believe to be Ngumoha’s starting spot?

The answer isn’t to do with preferences necessarily, like many fans feel Slot has towards his Dutch compatriot Gakpo; it’s actually to do with saving Rio’s minutes to get the right balance that prevents the teenager from picking up any injuries. 

This is something the club has tried to prioritise, and when asked about his game time, Slot said, “We’ve treated him carefully. He cannot be involved for too many days in a row because of stress fractures. Sometimes players of his age have and have had that here at this club; Jayden Danns is one of the examples of that.”



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As well as Danns’ injury problems around the same age from too many minutes, Stefan Bajcetic also supports the 47-year-old’s reasoning. Both players had lots of minutes as 17- and 18-year-olds during Klopp’s final season before injuries kept them from gaining regular minutes under Slot, as well as two failed loan deals. 

Danns regained the same hamstring injury he sustained in September 2025 in his first game back, whilst Bajcetic hasn’t even seen the pitch yet, showing the issues don’t last for a one-time injury; they continue throughout the crucial years of growth and development.

With Ngumoha predicted to become one of the Premier League’s best players, he has a lot of time on his hands, and whilst Cody Gakpo may be off form, his experience means Liverpool doesn’t need to rely on the 17-year-old for minutes and will integrate him into the side, preventing injuries such as stress fractures. 

Stress fractures will prevent a footballer from returning to action due to the overworking of a muscle or bone over time, due to very high-intensity training and match days. These injuries in adolescent athletes occur in up to 19% of all athletes, with 21% of those becoming a recurring injury (American National Library of Medicine: PubMed Central).



If the 2008-born winger were to be overplayed, this could be the most likely injury, and with the difficulty of returning to regular game time, like Slot mentioned in his press conference before Spurs, it would hinder his early development in senior football. It is one of the hardest jobs as a manager, but they would always rather play their academy prospects for fewer minutes and prevent injury than have them play lots of minutes and get injured.

When looking at the team sheets for the next few crucial games in the run-in of the season, it will be very easy to become frustrated seeing Rio on the bench when he is in top form. However, consider the long-term benefit of managing his minutes, and our patience may pay off with an unbelievable talent for many years to come.