Jose Mourinho held a meeting with Dele Alli on Tuesday to outline a pathway for how the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder can return to the Spurs starting XI and make an impact on their season.
Alli has been in near-exile from the Spurs squad all season under Mourinho, with four of his five starts coming in cup competitions and just 75 Premier League minutes of action, and there were ongoing discussions with Paris Saint-Germain throughout January over a loan switch.
That never came to fruition, primarily because of Alli's talent and the fact Mourinho wants to keep him in the squad as the compressed nature of the Premier League seasons means further injuries are almost inevitable.
Alli hasn't trained since last week due to an undisclosed tendon injury and the Tottenham manager has indicated he'll be out of contention at least until Manchester City next weekend.
"He needs to recover form his injury, return to training and have a fresh start. Because last week he couldn't even train – so that's the most important thing," Mourinho told a press conference ahead of the London derby.
"I had a good conversation with him yesterday (Tuesday), we spoke around this question that you asked me and I think we found very common ground.
"It's an important period of the season for the team and for him also. We need him. We need a good Dele Alli.
"We are just waiting for him to be back to a good normality."
Alli's playmaker role has largely been occupied by Tanguy Ndombele this season, although the Frenchman doesn't have the same goal threat or consistent level of craft in the final third.
Against Brighton, with Harry Kane also on the sidelines, Mourinho fielded Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale off Steven Bergwijn with concerning results as Spurs failed to trouble a Brighton defence which has struggled for clean sheets all season.
Mourinho admits that with Alli, Kane and Giovani Lo Celso - out since December 20 - he is missing three of his prime creators, another reason to suggest that Alli does have a part to play this season.
"Dele, Kane, Lo Celso, we're talking about players that without all three we miss a little creation, some magic around the attacking areas," Mourinho added.
"We had a conversation. Of course, a conversation doesn't put a player in great form but hopefully the motivation he needs to be back for the team.
"We are in the Europa League, the Premier League and the FA Cup although I don't believe he'll be back for that. I think when he's physically ready he'll be in a good frame of mind."
