Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has insisted that Murillo does not need extra motivation as he battles to return to full fitness.

On Wednesday, Murillo's Brazilian defensive partner Jair Cunha was handed his first-ever call-up to the national team after enjoying a fine start to the season.

There was no place in Carlo Ancelotti's squad for Murillo, however, which was announced days after Glasner raised fitness concerns over the 24-year-old.

Speaking after Forest were held to a goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, Glasner revealed that Murillo had not returned for pre-season training in the physical condition he expects.

On Thursday, ahead of Forest's trip to face Aston Villa, the Austrian insisted that Murillo does not need extra motivation from Jair's call-up, as he continues to work hard to reach full fitness.

“I hope that he doesn’t need this as motivation," Glasner insisted. "Every player should have this intrinsic motivation to improve their football and then that is rewarded by playing for your country.

“But the focus must be ‘What do I have to do to get called up?’ And like I explained, this is what Jair did from day one.

“For example James McAtee was the player of the U21 Euros when England won it, and he was captain, so what other goal should he have to play for the England first team? 

“I’ve mentioned before the difference between a wish and a goal. If it is only a wish, they will never do anything for it so it will never happen. If it is your goal, you have to invest and work very hard because there are hundreds of players who want to play for their country, and then you are in an elite circle of 26 who were called up [for Brazil].

“To be one of these top 26 players, you must be fantastic. You have to work really hard, and then it can happen, and this must be the mindset: to focus on the daily work in the club, then it can happen.”

Glasner continued to reveal that Murillo is nearing his top level after a heavily disrupted pre-season, as he reiterated that he is continuing to work hard.

“I’ve spoken to him quite often like all the other players, and about fitness, and I think it’s getting better and better," he said.

“I think he joined us in Portugal [in pre-season], playing 45 minutes against Portimonense five weeks ago. He’d been out for four months so now he’s getting rhythm. He’s now played most of the games and he’s getting closer and closer to his top fitness level.

“It just takes a bit longer than we all expected, but I think he had okay performances, but his own standards are not being an okay player for Forest, he [wants to be] a top player, a top defender, he has all the potential and skills for this.

“Like all the others, we will support him and he will hopefully be better than he was before. We can support him but we cannot do anything for him. But he’s really working hard in training, and he’s on track.”