Paulo Sousa says that he almost shipped Marcos Painter out on loan as he came back from his injury
The Swansea City manager says that because of the length of time out of the game he wondered whether the right decision was to let Painter get some game time elsewhere on his return from an injury.
Painter was subbed at half time on Tuesday at West Brom to be replaced by Jazz Richards who is now in real contention for a start at left back on Saturday. His performance was fantastic in the second half having replaced Painter who has been unable to hold down his place since his return from injury.
"Ten months is a long time out," Sousa told the Evening Post
"I spoke about things with Marcos and he almost left the club for a short period on loan because it's important for a player to have competition.
"But that time has passed now. Now he is working with us like the others.
"Every time we have used him, Jazz has done well," Sousa added.
"Whether it's on the right, the left or in the middle, he is focused on his job.
"He grew a lot in pre-season and he has a lot of potential."