Carlos Carvalhal Reveals Reason Behind Wilfried Bony's Limited Game Time at Swansea

Swansea City manager Carlos Carvalhal has revealed Wilfried Bony will be given more game time, but only when the Ivorian is fully fit.

Bony is a firm fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium after a highly successful first spell that yielded 26 goals in just 54 Premier League games between 2012 and 2015.

He has struggled with injuries since his rejoining the Swans from Manchester City this summer however, prompting new manager Carvalhal to explain his limited recent role.

“Bony has been involved in three games,” Carvalhal is quoted as saying by Wales Online.

“The first was in the Cup at Wolves after he had been injured. I put him in to improve the tempo. The performance was not good, but I could not expect more than that because he had only trained three or four times."

The Ivory Coast international hasn't started a game for the Swans since their 3-1 defeat at Everton on December 18, partly due to ongoing hamstring troubles.

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Recent appointment Carvalhal went on to reveal that he will look to use Bony more frequently in upcoming games, but only when his fitness levels will produce a significant impact on the pitch.

“He hasn’t played too much and I prefer that a player like that can really effect the game. Even if it’s only 30 minutes, I prefer that at a high level than a whole game where he has to protect himself.

“If he plays the whole 90 minutes when he is not fit, then the players can lose confidence and the team can lose games also."

The Swans travel to Meadow Lane on Saturday to take on League Two outfit Notts County in the FA Cup fourth round, before resuming their relegation battle at home to Arsenal a week on Tuesday.