‘It was not possible to rest him’ — Fulham boss explains how vital Iwobi is to the Cottagers

Alex Iwobi continues to underline his importance to Fulham with another tireless display in the FA Cup. Head coach Marco Silva has now admitted that leaving the Nigerian out of his plans was never an option.

Speaking to FFCtv after Fulham’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Stoke City in the FA Cup fourth round, Silva explained why Iwobi was the only player to retain his place in the starting lineup.

The Portuguese tactician made ten changes from the side that suffered a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City days earlier, yet Iwobi remained indispensable.

“Alex, another game, it was not possible to rest him. Probably it was a good game to rest him, but we don’t have many solutions to do so, and the backline was solid enough,” Silva said.

Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Iwobi has featured for 448 of a possible 450 minutes across all competitions, highlighting just how heavily the Cottagers rely on his energy and versatility.

Fulham’s squad rotation saw Calvin Bassey drop to the bench, while Samuel Chukwueze was left out of the matchday squad altogether. Yet Iwobi once again led from the start.

After Stoke opened the scoring, the Hale End Academy graduate nearly marked his 100th Fulham appearance in style, but his header drifted inches wide of the left post.

Since the start of the 2025–2026 campaign, Iwobi has made 35 appearances for club and country, further underlining his durability and importance. For Silva, resting him may be ideal in theory, but in reality, it remains impossible.