Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has insisted that Casemiro will "find himself in the team" in the near future, having again been overlooked for a start in the Manchester derby on Sunday.
The 30-year-old has made six appearances for the Red Devils since arriving from Real Madrid over the summer, including four outings in the Premier League.
Casemiro is yet to start a league game for the 20-time English champions, though, and he was again named on the bench for Sunday's contest with Manchester City.
Scott McTominay's strong form had kept Casemiro on the bench, while Christian Eriksen has also been key to the team's recent turnaround in the Premier League.
However, Man United suffered a 6-3 defeat to Man City at the weekend, with Erling Braut Haaland and Phil Foden both scoring hat tricks for the reigning champions at Etihad Stadium.
Man United will now switch their attention to the Europa League, preparing to travel to Cyprus this week to take on Onomia, before returning to Premier League action against Everton on Sunday.
A busy month will also see the Red Devils face Omonia at home, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Sheriff Tiraspol and West Ham United.
Ten Hag has said that the team's strong run of form contributed to Casemiro staying on the bench, but the Dutchman has said that the midfielder will "find himself in the team" sooner rather than later.
"On the day we signed him, we started to win and it's about the team," Ten Hag told reporters when asked about the Brazil international. "The team is doing really well, it's not against Casemiro, it's for, in this case, Scott McTominay, he performed great in the team and then we get into a run.
"But I'm sure it will be important for us in the long and short-term, he will find himself in the team but it has to come in a natural way."
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag admitted that he was "very disappointed" with the performance against Man City and claimed that his side 'lacked belief'.
"I am very disappointed, especially at the lack of belief. I didn't expect it. In the [previous] games, yes some weeks ago, our team was confident, there was a good spirit, there was a good vibe and today we didn't bring it on the pitch from the first minute at all," he said.
"The vibe hasn't gone [definitively] but today they didn't bring the belief on the pitch. It is possible to play and we didn't. On the ball we gave easy balls away. We made many wrong decisions and out of possession, we didn't go on the front foot. I always expect my team [to go on the front foot] but today, they didn't do that."
The result has left Man United in sixth position in the table on 12 points, two points behind fourth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion and nine points off the leaders Arsenal, who have played a game more. body check tags ::
