Unai Emery wants to see more from the winger before handing him a regular role, after Garnacho was left an unused substitute for the third successive game in Wednesday's 3-1 Carabao Cup win at Coventry.
The 22-year-old has played just 31 minutes across three substitute appearances since arriving on loan from Chelsea, with George Hemmings currently keeping him out of the side. Villa hold a conditional obligation to buy Garnacho for around £42.5 million, believed to be tied to appearances, adding extra scrutiny to his path back into the team.
"Continue working. Work, work, train, work," Emery said. "When he can have minutes to play, try to play well. He is progressing, but we have players in front of him now."
Emery pointed to the form of those currently ahead of Garnacho in the pecking order as the reason for his limited involvement.
"George is playing fantastic. Alysson is also understanding things well and is giving us things I want. [Ibrahim] Mbaye also responded well," he said. "We want a competitive team and players to compete in the style we have. Garnacho is a little bit behind because of some circumstances we had in pre-season. It is time to be patient for the time he needs."
Those circumstances included a facial injury Garnacho suffered against BG Pathum United during pre-season, which ruled him out of Villa's Super Cup defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in August and disrupted his early integration at the club following his arrival in July.
Emery has made 14 substitutions across Villa's past three matches, none of them involving Garnacho, who was also left out of the seven changes made for the win at the CBS Arena. Goals from Tammy Abraham and a Ross Barkley header secured that victory and set up a fourth-round trip to Bournemouth in October.
Garnacho's move to Villa Park in July came on loan from Chelsea, whom he had joined for £40 million from Manchester United only twelve months earlier. After a modest first season in west London — eight goals in 43 appearances, but only one in the Premier League — new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso told the winger he would not be guaranteed regular game time, prompting the switch to Villa.
The winger arrived with a reputation as one of the more exciting attacking talents to emerge from United's academy in recent years, having made 144 first-team appearances there and represented Argentina at senior level, but has found first-team opportunities hard to come by since his move to the Midlands.
With Aston Villa competing across multiple competitions this season, including a first Champions League campaign in years, Emery's insistence on patience suggests Garnacho will need to make the most of any chances that do come his way in the weeks ahead, rather than expecting an immediate route back into the starting XI.