José Mourinho has warned Vinícius Júnior he will not have an automatic way back into the Real Madrid side when his domestic suspension ends as the Brazilian's recent performances remain under the microscope.
Vinícius will miss Saturday's trip to Valencia as he serves the last of a four-match ban following his red card against Villarreal last month.
But Madrid have won all three league matches since the 26-year-old was sent off, beating Sevilla 4-1, Barcelona 2-1 and Racing Santander 3-0. Yan Diomande has made an outstanding case to take Vinícius's place permanently with a return of four goals and three assists in his last six appearances.
Although Mourinho has publicly defended a player who has been key to so many of Madrid's successes in recent seasons, on Friday the Portuguese coach was clear about his priorities.
"For me, the most important thing is the team," he said. "I've never wanted to harm the team to benefit a player. When Vinícius is back to normal and available, I'll manage things.
"I have to do everything to have my players at their best. Always believe in the true potential of the player. A bad player will always be bad no matter how hard you try and a good player, in their bad moments, leaves the door open for them to return to their normal form.
"His teammates are incredibly supportive, and we're going all in with complete belief, but when it comes down to it, when it's time to decide, the team has to come first."
Vinícius started the midweek Champions League match away to AEK Athens, but was again criticised for his display on a night when Madrid twice fell behind, and he was substituted shortly after Jude Bellingham got them back level at 2-2, watching Federico Valverde's stoppage-time winner from the bench.
Madrid will be going for their eighth straight win in all competitions this weekend, but Mourinho admitted the nature of the victory in Greece showed there is much room for improvement.
"It's better not to come back," Mourinho said. "It's better like at Santander, 3-0 up at half-time. Coming back has positive and negative aspects.
"It's about belief, a strong bench, team motivation, knowing what shirt you wear. But it also has its downsides, and that's the side we have to work on. We have to find more consistency when starting matches."
Madrid start the weekend third in LaLiga, but victory would see them draw level with leaders Barcelona before they travel to second-placed Atlético Madrid on Sunday.
Rodrygo (knee), Raúl Asencio (leg) and Ferland Mendy (hip) are all out along with the suspended Vinícius.
Valencia are coming off a 1-0 win over Elche but that was only their second league win of the season, with Javier Aguirre's side down in 19th place with only nine points from 11 matches, and fears growing of a long season battling relegation.