Patience is the name of the game for Fulham central defender Shaun Hutchinson, according to his boss.
No sooner was the 25-year-old back in the team at Ipswich last week to carve out a 1-1 draw after the 4-0 pasting at Brighton - he was nowhere to be seen for the home defeat by Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Hutchinson has made only 10 appearances in white for Fulham this season, with a litany of defenders preferred in an ever changing back four.
For all that, Slavisa Jokanovic paid tribute to the Geordie in the wings before Saturday's Forest fire.
He said: "Hutchinson is a professional, and he knows what football is all about and never complains.
"He has been waiting for his chance. He has been many times out of the team, and at this moment he now needs to be able to help us, and that’s what he is doing."
Hutchinson signed on a two-year deal from Motherwell in the summer of 2014. The player now has to sweat on whether the club will pick up the option of an extra year on his contract.