Jose Mourinho has told Michael Carrick that his time will come despite the Manchester United captain's lack of playing time so far this season.
Carrick signed a one-year contract extension at Old Trafford in May but despite that show of faith, the 36-year-old midfielder is yet to play a minute of football this term.
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When asked what role Carrick still had to play at United, Mourinho compared his captain's situation to those of other members of his squad whose playing time has been limited, as reported by the Independent.
"[Sergio] Romero played the Europa League final which was the game of the season for us and he's not playing. Ander Herrera was the player of the season and he is not starting matches. That's life in big clubs," Mourinho said. "We gave [Carrick] a contract because we think he is a good player, we think he is an important player.
"He's in a team with these two guys playing absolutely phenomenal so for Carrick and for Ander, it's just patience. Their time will arrive and they're going to be important players for sure. That's the team, that's the squad."
The long-serving 36-year-old was named skipper after all-time top scorer Wayne Rooney's summer departure, but his elevated status has not brought any game time.
Carrick has not even made the bench at times in the early weeks of the season, but looks set to finally get some minutes under his belt in the Carabao Cup third round tie against Burton on Wednesday.
Last season it was not until United's opening game in this competition that he made his first competitive appearance, before going onto play an important role for the remainder of the campaign – something Mourinho suggests he can do again, according to reports by the Dailymail.
Carrick, Herrera and Romero are likely to get a chance on Wednesday as David De Gea, Antonio Valencia, Matic and Eric Bailly have been given two days off by Mourinho.
