Graeme Jones said Izzy Brown was ‘frustrated’ to be substituted in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Cardiff but that the decision was made with an eye on the remaining 15 Championship games of the season.
The Chelsea loan ace made his first start since injuring his hamstring in late November but was withdrawn on 64 minutes, with the score still goalless.
Luke Berry replaced Brown, having seen his influence wane after a promising first half, and Cardiff’s Lee Tomlin notched the only goal of the game nine minutes later.
But the manager confirmed the move was to protect the attacker from further injury.
“Izzy was disappointed to come off, but he can’t sustain it,” said Jones.
“We’ve got to make sure he stays fit, as he can still get a lot better.
“We’ve got another two games this week and Izzy was frustrated to come off, I don’t want to take Izzy off, but you’ve got to think about the next 15 games and not just one.
“Losing him in the 80th minutes with a hamstring, he’s not ready for that, so that was the reason.”
