By Sam Stone

6th Oct, 2022 | 3:08pm

View: Rico Lewis could be Joao Cancelo Manchester City understudy after Kyle Walker injury

Pep Guardiola gave 17-year-old right-back Rico Lewis a 30-minute run out for Manchester City in their 5-0 win over Copenhagen and he could well be an option after Kyle Walker’s injury.

Sky Sports report (6 October) that Walker has undergone surgery on a groin issue and is now a doubt for the World Cup in Qatar.

If Walker is out for a substantial period of time then there is every chance that Lewis could be viewed as an understudy to Joao Cancelo for City’s upcoming domestic and European fixtures.

Lewis spoke after the match of his shock at how long he was entrusted to feature on the pitch.

“It’s like a dream, I can’t even describe how good it was and to even get out there for ten minutes would’ve been great but to get that much time on the pitch is just amazing,” said Lewis [BBC Radio Manchester, 6 October]

“Obviously I’ve been a City fan since I was five or six so to come through to this point is like a dream.”

Despite only being 17, Lewis was composed during his display for Manchester City against the Danish side. He managed a pass accuracy rate of 95 per cent (as per Wyscout) and also attempted six successful passes to the final third.

Defensively he was untroubled, managing one interception and winning all of his aerial duels in his 34-minute cameo. City’s wealth of talent can often make it hard for players to make it at The Etihad, but it is good to see Guardiola entrust some of his younger players to feature in lesser matches.

In other Manchester City news, Erling Haaland could break the PL scoring record this season