Fulham midfielder Sanchez Ruiz Jozabed still needs time to adapt himself to English football, according to Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic.
The summer signing from Rayo Vallecano has not made it onto the pitch since the 2-1 defeat to QPR and has yet to set the world alight with his performances.
There had been speculation that he had been allowed to return to Spain ahead of a January move but Jokanovic insisted that he has a chance to feature in the first team, along with other players out of the side at the moment such as Lasse Vigen Christensen.
He said: “The situation with Jozabed is the same as all my players. All my players have a chance to work and fight for position in the team.
“He has his chance and he needs to adapt himself from this place to lead a different life to what he was living before and, generally, we believe he's a talented guy and a good player.
“It's the same answer for players who are not participating in many minutes in the competition.”