Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma has backed John Terry to return to the team, while also praising the club captain for helping him to adjust to the Premier League.
Zouma, 20, replaced 34-year-old Terry at half-time during Chelsea's 3-0 defeat at Manchester City in August and the France defender has started every league and Champions League game since.
Veteran centre-back Terry has had to watch from the sidelines -- apart from when the pair played together during a 3-1 loss at Everton earlier this month.
The reigning champions' defence was once again fragile in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle. However, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he "didn't know" whether that would see Terry return for Tuesday's Champions League clash in Porto.
While Zouma says he'll be working hard to keep his starting place at a club he's "always dreamed of" playing for, he believes that it is only a matter of time before Terry earns a recall.
"The legend is still there," Zouma told French television show Telefoot on Sunday. "In the next few matches, he'll play. That's for sure.
"He's a bit like my teacher. When I was younger he was a great example to me and the fact that I'm playing with him is an honour.
"He talks a lot... he's a good teacher."
Zouma, who joined Chelsea from Saint-Etienne in January of last year, will have pleased Mourinho by scoring the opening goal in the recent 2-0 win over Arsenal. But the Chelsea boss has not had too much cause for celebration this season, having watched his team pick up only eight points from their first seven league matches.
"When he's not happy, you certainly know about it at training," Zouma said of Mourinho. "He shouts a lot. Mentally as well he's taught me a lot because you know he doesn't like to lose. He really hates losing.
"I know he expects a lot from me and I want to return the favour because it's down to him that I'm here today."
Zouma made his France debut against Denmark in March and he says that Mourinho has compared his development to that of his international colleague Raphael Varane. The Portuguese coach worked with Varane, 22, at Real Madrid and has seen similarities between the two players.
"The coach talked to me a bit about Raph in the last few months," Zouma told Telefoot. "He said that he was making more or less the same errors as I am when he arrived at Real Madrid."
Whether Zouma will progress quickly enough to win a place in France's Euro 2016 squad remains to be seen. But former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf believes the youngster will become a regular in the national side.
"In the same manner as players like [Marseille's] Lassana Diarra or maybe Hatem Ben Arfa [of Nice], good performances allow you to hope to get a place in the French team," Leboeuf told Telefoot. "He really has all the skills needed to become a top player.
"One day he'll find himself in the centre of France's defence. With Mourinho and the work he's putting in, I'm certain that he'll get there."