Everton boss Rafa Benitez is wary playing his top kids too soon.
Benitez could have up to eight players unavailable to face Brentford if Abdoulaye Doucoure (out for a month with a broken foot) and Demarai Gray (groin) fail late fitness tests.
Nevertheless, he will resist the temptation to pad out his squad with youth team players despite being short on numbers.
“We used to have the same problem every year, not just here but in every country and every club when we talk about young players," he said. “It seems that to be young is to be good enough.
“Anthony Gordon is a young player (and) people were asking for him to play.
“After two or three weeks he was mentally ready, he's a player with quality and he's playing.
“When the players are good enough and mentally ready, they can play.
“But in some positions maybe you don't have this – maybe the young players have the potential but don't have the experience or mentality at this time.
“Some of them will need more time. If you have top class players, like (Wayne) Rooney at 17 years old he could play. There are not too many.
“Some people say we have to give them an opportunity. Yeah but 'young' players doesn't mean 'good' players.
“They're young players. Some of them will need more time than others."
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