Wayne Rooney believes he has not found the 'right time' to allow Beni Baningime to impress at Derby County after signing him on-loan until the end of the season from Everton in January.
Baningime, 22, has made only one start since joining his former team-mate at Pride Park and has not featured for the last five matches, appearing for a total of 93 minutes over 12 games.
With County having six players currently on loan - but only five allowed in a matchday squad - the midfielder has been left out entirely on four separate occasions.
Derby are five points above the Championship relegation zone but have played four more games than 22nd-place Rotherham United and without victory in eight matches, Rooney revealed it has been 'hard' to select the Everton academy graduate.
He told the Derby Telegraph: "You bring a player in and you want to try and give them time to impress, but at the minute the way we have been going it has been hard for me to give him minutes.
“I think the middle of the pitch is a very important position for the team and it is just about picking the right time for him to come in and take the chance when he does.”
Derby host Luton Town after the international break with eight matches of the season remaining.
Baningime is out of contract at Everton at the end of next term. He was handed his debut at the club by David Unsworth in 2017 but has not played in the Premier League for almost three years.
