The Portugal fullback could feature in tomorrow's Carabao Cup clash at Walsall.
Cooper said today: “I speak to Ricky all of the time.
“He’s an excellent pro and a very important player in the dressing room, for the culture. He leads by example.
“He’ll want to play games but he knows he’s in a competition like every other player is. Sometimes you’ve got the shirt, you’ve got the nod, and other times you haven’t. I’ve said before, we’re in a really strong position at right-back and whoever we play it’s all good.”
Cooper added, “With regards to Tuesday, we’ll see the effects of Everton, physically and with knocks, and then we’ll decide what the right plan is.
“It’s a game we want to win.
“The team we put out will be an experienced and strong one. You saw the bench. Whether we decide to make lots of changes or go with players we’ve been playing in the league, it will be an experienced team in a game we want to win.”