Diogo Dalot will be made to wait for his first Old Trafford appearance despite impressing for Manchester United on debut in midweek.
The 19-year-old, who joined United from Porto during the summer for £19million, caught the eye in Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League victory over Young Boys.
Dalot came in for club captain Antonio Valencia and staked his claim for inclusion against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
However, the young full-back, whose full debut was delayed due to surgery on a knee injury, will not feature against Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
“I want him in this process of adaptation to play totally fresh,” Mourinho said of Dalot. “He’s not playing tomorrow.”
Mourinho went on to confirm that he will play Dalot in Tuesday night’s EFL Cup third round tie against Derby County.
“To play for Manchester United is difficult enough for a kid at 19 years old, coming from another country after injury and surgery,” the United manager added.
“He doesn’t need to face more difficulties because of accumulation of matches. Tuesday, he plays again.
“I think he showed for the others who did not know him very well that he is not a player to be here for formation. He is a player to be here for competition, for positions.”
United conceded seven goals in their first three games of the season, with six in the defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur.
Mourinho admitted after the Tottenham defeat that he did not know his best defence but in the three games since, Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof have started at the back and conceded just once.
“The team as a team is resolving the defensive problems better than before. I don’t want to say it was [Eric] Bailly and [Phil] Jones and is now Smalling and Lindelof,” Mourinho said.
“I think the team is more compact, more solid. The spirit, the co-operation, the empathy and communication improve in the team.
“Good results bring confidence. We are improving as a team. I don’t want to say our improvement has the name of Chris or Victor. The team is playing better.”
