Sunderland interim manager Mike Dodds has revealed why 16-year-old sensation Chris Rigg has been absent recently and has also explained the next steps in his development.
Rigg became Sunderland’s youngest-ever outfield player in the FA Cup third-round tie away to Shrewsbury Town last season, coming off the bench to help inspire a 2-1 victory.
At the time, the teenager was 15 years and 203 days old.
Only goalkeeper Derek Forster had turned out at a younger age for Sunderland than Rigg.
After making his debut for the club, the central midfielder craved more first-team action and he went on to make a further two appearances in the FA Cup, coming off the bench in both fixtures against Fulham.
He even scored a goal in injury time against the Cottagers, only to have his celebrations cut short after the offside flag was raised.
This season, Rigg has continued making inroads into the first-team and etched his name into Stadium of Light folklore when he scored off the bench in a 5-0 rout of Southampton in September.
The youngster has since made five appearances off the bench but last turned out for a 13-minute cameo in the 3-1 victory over Norwich in late October.
Dodds has revealed the reasons why Rigg hasn’t featured in the senior setup recently.
What did Mike Dodds say about Chris Rigg?
Sunderland’s interim manager wants Rigg to be playing as well as being exposed to the first-team environment, so he will feature in the FA Youth Cup tie against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Thursday night.
He said: “Chris is a first-year scholar, he’s 16, and what we have to do as a football club is get a real balance because he is a talented boy who potentially, provided he stays focused and concentrates, has a bright future ahead of him. What we have to do is make sure we get his programme right in terms of what he needs.
“I can’t remember the last time he played a full 90 minutes, which is a concern for me for a young footballer, and what you can do with young players is get blinded by him being on the bench for the first team, he comes on and has 15 minutes here and 10 minutes there, he is training with us every single day, and then he gets lost in that forest of development.”
What’s next for Chris Rigg?
At the age of 16, Rigg has plenty of time to develop into a first-team regular in the North East, but for now, he must be playing regularly with the academy.
As alluded to by Dodds, if he’s only being drip-fed minutes in the senior side, that is only curtailing his development.
It is remarkable that Sunderland’s precocious talent – who has been described by Tony Mowbray as a “joy to watch” – is even playing in the first team.
And the fact he’s already scored just shows how good he could become if he remains level-headed and focused on the task at hand.
Indeed, it is unlikely Rigg will earn more minutes in the senior side this term given the Black Cats are battling for promotion, but there is no doubt that his potential is limitless.