Mike Dodds explains Chris Rigg's recent Sunderland absence and the next steps for midfielder

Mike Dodds says Chris Rigg's recent absence from the first-team squad is to protect his development and ensure he gets the playing time he needs.

Rigg has not been named in the squad since returning from the U17 World Cup, though that was initially down to a very minor ankle knock. The youngster played for Sunderland's U18s over the weekend as they secured a highly impressive win over Manchester City, and the club's interim head coach has confirmed that he will not feature in the squad for the next two Championship games.

Dodds says the 16-year-old needs to be playing as well as being exposed to the first-team environment, and so will feature in the FA Youth Cup tie against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light on Thursday night.

His position will then be assessed again next week ahead of the visit of Coventry City just before Christmas.

"I had quite a long meeting with Chris yesterday," Dodds said on Tuesday afternoon.

"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.

"You think you're doing the right thing by them but the reality is that they're not getting what they need.

"The decision was to give him 90 minutes against a really, really good academy, and then we've got the FA Youth Cup coming up on Thursday evening which he will be involved in. We just have to get a balance.

"He's still training with us every day, he's still getting right information and getting stretched and challenged, but sometimes if he's in and around the squad you forget what he needs right now is minutes to develop.

"He is very much in our plans, he is going to be a big player for the football club, I just made the decision around development that he needed some minutes and some competition in his development programme.

"He played the other night and he'll play on Thursday night for the U18s in the FA Youth Cup, and then after Saturday and our game at Bristol City we'll re-evaluate his programme."

Dodds also confirmed that Jewison Bennette is not currently eligible for selection due to a minor ankle injury, but that he could return to training later this week ahead of the trip to Bristol City.