Tony Mowbray won't be rushed into giving World Cup-bound Jewison Bennette more Sunderland game-time, insisting the Black Cats must first ensure the young winger is at home on Wearside off the pitch.

Bennette will link-up with Costa Rica for the World Cup after tonight's Championship game against Birmingham City, with the 18-year-old having travelled with the squad and expected to be involved in some capacity at St Andrew's.

Bennette is still waiting for his Sunderland start and Mowbray says patience will be key with the teenager. Before Sunderland see the best of the youngster on the pitch, Mowbray says they need to ensure he's settled off it. That means helping Bennette to learn English and introducing a routine that will bring the best out of him.

Mowbray said: "For his age he is so talented. He is having language lessons with us, twice a week. There are a lot of little things he needs to do.

"He lives with his dad and his mum is coming over after the World Cup. I'd like us to control his routine a bit more - his diet, his sleep, I feel as if he is a young kid who is still floating around.

"We see some brilliant moments in training but then at times, he can look a bit fatigued and you wonder if he has been sleeping or is he getting up at 5am to speak to people back home.

"Has he acclimatised totally? I don't know the answer because we cannot really communicate with him at this stage. I am quite relaxed about the fact he has not made a massive impact since scoring two goals for his country and then that goal at Watford. But I think he is a happy kid, I do not think he is sulking at not playing a bit more. He is on a journey with us really.

"The club is doing its best to ensure everything is OK for him but I feel as if he hasn't really settled into a routine. I do need to give him more exposure, integrate him a bit more. He is a lovely kid although until he speaks the language I cannot really tell him what I want. That is the biggest hurdle right now.

"We need to communicate better for him to know all his jobs and duties on the pitch. That is a slight frustration because I know he will be so much better when language becomes less of an issue. He is so young, I do not see why we should accelerate him into the team.

"It is about balance and development. For me, we have to solidify ourselves in this league and when we do, that is the time to get him blooded in games. He has to learn on the job."

While Bennette is seen as a long term project at Sunderland, he's likely to play a key role for Costa Rica in Qatar, which could give the youngster ultimate exposure.

"Yes, it could do," said Mowbray.

"Let's hope it does. In many ways it will be easier for him because he will be playing with and mixing with people who speak his language. And he will understand his role in that team much more.

"I do not know whether he will start for Costa Rica, I have no knowledge of the competition. The World Cup could quite possibly be career defining or life changing.

"Let us hope when the next World Cup comes around, he has played 100 or more games for us and he is a big name on the international stage. He has the talent to do that. I just do not feel this is the right time to expose him too much."

Sunderland will be without the suspended Luke O'Nien at Birmingham tonight after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Cardiff City.

Dan Ballard, Aji Alese, Edouard Michut, Lynden Gooch and Ross Stewart are all still out and Mowbray hinted others could miss out at St Andrew's.

Asked for an injury update, he said: "There's lots, but none that I can tell you about."

Niall Huggins could return after more than a year out and 15-year-old Chris Rigg could be included in the squad.