Fulham boss, Marco Silva has revealed why he cannot keep Super Eagles star, Alex Iwobi on the bench in a way of resting him.

Silva spoke to FFCtv about why Alex Iwobi could not be left out of the starting XI following their FA Cup victory over Stoke City on Sunday.

Interestingly, the Portuguese coach made ten changes from the team that lost 3-0 to Manchester City on Wednesday night, and Iwobi was the only player who stayed in the starting lineup.

Because of the team’s rotation, Calvin Bassey was left out of the game, while Samuel Chukwueze was not included in the starting lineup.

Since coming back from the Africa Cup of Nations, Iwobi has been a key player for Fulham.

He has played in 448 out of the 450 possible minutes available across all competitions.

Silva said that Iwobi had to start because there were not enough players in the squad.

“Alex, another game, he couldn’t rest. Maybe it was a good chance to let him rest, but we don’t have many options to do that, and the backline held up well,” Marco Silva said.

After Stoke City scored the first goal, Iwobi almost reached his 100th game for Fulham by scoring, but his heading attempt went just a few inches wide off the left post.

Since the beginning of the 2025–2026 season, the former Everton and Arsenal star has played in 35 matches for both their club and national team.