Jonathan Lewis might not be a 90-minute player yet, according to his coach.
When asked if the 21-year-old was not yet ready to play a full game so far in his career, New York City FC coach Domenec Torrent said “maybe” but it’s not because of his offensive output.
“I am very happy with Jonathan,” Torrent told The Post earlier this week. “[He] needs to improve a little bit when he doesn’t have the ball. … He’s a fast player, [and] when we have the ball, it’s not a problem.”
Torrent attributed Lewis’ off-the-ball struggles mainly to his positional role when NYCFC transitions into defense. He explained Lewis needs to track his runners better than he has in his brief cameos this season.
It’s possible Lewis could see starting minutes in the next two matches against Columbus Crew on Saturday and New England Revolution on Sept. 5, according to Torrent. NYCFC will carry a lighter roster in the coming games due to injuries, international call-ups and suspensions.
“He’s a young player. He has time to improve,” Torrent said. “I’m very happy with him because he’s incredible in every training [session] and he’s getting better.”
Fellow winger Rodney Wallace will be away on international duty with Costa Rica and Libya, respectively, while Jesus Medina and Jo Inge Berget remain sidelined with injuries.
Remaining wide options include Tommy McNamara and newcomer Valentin Castellanos, who returns to the team after missing the last two matches due to injury.
Castellanos joined NYCFC on loan from Club Atletico Torque and immediately broke into the starting eleven, scoring a goal in his debut against Vancouver on Aug. 4. He buried Lewis further on the depth chart, even though Lewis has shown promise, especially late in games.
In just 184 minutes (11 games) this season, Lewis has tallied one goal and three assists as a second-half spark plug.
Four NYCFC players received national team call-ups for the first international games following the World Cup.
Defender Maxime Chanot (Luxembourg), midfielder Ebenezer Ofori (Ghana) and wingers Ismael Tajouri-Shradi (Libya) and Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica) will represent their nations for friendlies and qualifiers.
Chanot returns to Luxembourg’s national team for the first time in over a year. He will participate in the UEFA Nations League against Moldova (Sept. 9) and San Marino (Sept. 11).
Wallace, who played at the World Cup for Costa Rica, was selected for friendlies against South Korea (Sept. 9) and Japan (Sept. 11).
Both Ofori and Tajouri-Shradi will participate in African Nations Cup qualifying.
