We shouldn't rely on him to pass the ball around but he should improve his passing to reach the next level ( imo he easily could). Don't worry about him losing confidence, I think he is stronger than that mentally.
He is our best box to box player imo and I think Ciro knows that, so he will know how to utilise him while preserving his confidence. But he will need to step up this year anyway, zanetti is fit and Tiago is playing well.