Joao Carvalho has played just 17 minutes of football for Nottingham Forest since the season resumed last month.
The Portuguese talent, a club record signing at £13m two years ago was an unused substitute in Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat to Fulham at the City Ground.
Head coach Sabri Lamouchi made five changes in the second half as he desperately tried to breathe life into a flat Forest display, but Carvalho’s omission has once again raised more questions about his standing within the squad and his long-term future.
Instead of sending on the enigmatic Carvalho, Lamouchi opted instead to use youngster Alex Mighten, Nuno da Costa and Huddersfield loan flop Adama Diakhaby in a bid to find a goal.
Fans and former players raised questions about Carvalho’s absence following that defeat and why he didn't feature, but what has the manager said about the Forest number ten?
“I know the quality of the player and he has a lot of quality. I need quality players and Joao is part of the squad, one (of the players) with the best quality,” he said after Forest’s 3-0 home defeat to Millwall before the season was curtailed.
“I want him with me. I want him with Forest. He will help us.
“Just because he is out of the side, it does not mean that he is out of my mind. I am wanting more from him.
"Joao is a fantastic player but talent is not always enough. My challenge is to talk and to speak with him; to try to understand.
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"I have to give him confidence. I know that when I leave him out, I do not give him confidence. But I am not here for individuals, I am here for the team, to manage the group.
"When you have quality players, you need to find the solution. This is my big challenge.
“Everyone knows the quality of Joao. I don’t want him out. I want him with us, but at a different level. Consistency isn’t only for the team, it is for everybody.
“Joao is not our Messi, but he has the quality to help us.
" It was a decent performance [from him].
“He will play the next one because we need a technical leader.
“Step by step, because he hasn’t played a lot, he will get better and better.”
