RAFAEL BENITEZ has told Jonjo Shelvey he has to be “more mature” if he wants to realise his abundant potential, and claims a season in the Championship could be the making of the Newcastle United midfielder.

Shelvey lines up against Wolves this evening for the first time since he was handed a five-match suspension for racially abusing one of the Molineux club’s midfielders, Romain Saiss.

Despite continuing to protest his innocence, Shelvey accepted the FA disciplinary commission’s   punishment, and since returning to action in last month’s FA Cup replay win over Birmingham, the midfielder has not picked up a single booking.

There was a potential flashpoint in Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with QPR however, when Shelvey was accused of treading on an opponent, and it is clear that opposition teams are continuing to target the 24-year-old, who has displayed hot-headed tendencies on more than one occasion in the past.

Tonight’s game could thrust Shelvey into a difficult environment, with Wolves fans sure to single him out for sustained criticism, but Benitez is confident one of his side’s key players will refuse to rise to the bait.

The pair have discussed Shelvey’s temperament on a number of occasions this season, and Benitez has urged the England international to allow his football to do the talking, even if opponents attempt to rile him.

“The best thing Jonjo can do is concentrate on his football,” said Benitez, whose side will cede top spot before they kick-off if Brighton beat Burton in their afternoon encounter. “That’s it. He’s a very good player that has to grow in terms of being more mature and being more focused on what he can do on the pitch.

“It’s easy to see teams marking him man-to-man and trying to get him out of the game. He has to grow and he has to learn. It’s a question of time. He has a lot of challenges now, but he will improve and be a better player.

“I will say that from the beginning of the season, also from last season, but from the beginning of this season, little by little we have been watching him. He has been learning and improving.

“He can still make mistakes like all of us do, but he has been learning and improving. I have seen this month that he is working harder, he is more focused, and hopefully we will see that he can play in the level that he can play in every single game.”

When Shelvey joined Newcastle in January 2016, he was hoping to win back his place in the England squad. Instead, he found himself tumbling into the Championship, with Benitez’s lack of faith in his abilities highlighted by his absence from the starting line-up in the final five games of last season.

He didn’t start the first game of the current campaign, but has spent the last five months establishing a reputation as the most talented player outside the top-flight.

He is certainly an integral part of the current Newcastle team, with his pinpoint long-range passes and fierce shots from outside the box forming a key part of the Magpies’ attacking threat.

His influence has not gone unnoticed, and when Rotherham travelled to St James’ Park last month, it was immediately obvious that visiting midfielder Will Vaulks had been instructed to man-mark Shelvey.

Vaulks barely left his opponent’s side, yet Shelvey was still able to set up Daryl Murphy’s opener and create another goal for Matt Ritchie. The former Swansea and Liverpool play-maker finds himself a marked man, but Benitez feels he can only benefit from being a big fish in the Championship’s small pond.

“I think this season will be really important for his future,” said the Newcastle boss. “He has a lot of different situations, and he has to cope with them.

“We knew it would be a great experience for him this year because he's a player that everybody will try to mark and try to push him a little bit to see how he reacts. So he has to learn from that.

“There are not too many players of Jonjo’s level around. Not that many people can do what he has been doing in the last few games - he has been playing really well.

“I also think he has a great future at international level. You don’t see many midfielders who can do what he can do every week, but the key thing for him is just to concentrate on his football and then he will be better.”

Benitez insists he has no qualms about naming Shelvey in his side at Molineux, but Dwight Gayle will not feature in the squad despite returning to training this week.

Gayle has a history of hamstring problems, and Newcastle’s medical staff do not want to rush the striker’s return to the side. As a result, he will remain on the sidelines today, although he could be involved in Tuesday’s trip to Norwich.

“He’s not in the squad, but he has been training with the team, nearly full training sessions,” said Benitez. “He’s getting closer. Sometimes it depends on the confidence of the player, but he’s getting closer. He has been training, doing football. He's very, very close.

“Are we missing him? Yes. But not because the other players are not doing their jobs. He’s a different kind of player, and if you have three options, it’s always better for you as a manager.”