Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche was a notable absentee in Crystal Palace’s match day squad for their game against Bournemouth at Selhurst Park on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Uche was with Nigeria for the international break last week, as he got a late call-up to replace the injured Cyriel Dessers. However, he didn’t play in the two games against Lesotho and Benin.
Club football resumed over the weekend, and most of the Super Eagles stars who were involved returned to their clubs clubs even played.
However, Uche was conspicuously missing from Crystal Palace’s squad for their Premier League game against Bournemouth on Saturday.
This was surprising, as the Super Eagles star has made the bench in all the games he has been available for at the club.
The game eventually ended 3-3, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring a hattrick for Crystal Palace.
According to a report from We Are Palace, Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner excluded Christantus Uche from the match day squad against Bournemouth because he arrived late from the international break.
However, the particular day Uche returned to action has not been confirmed, and it is also unclear whether Glasner’s decision was a punishment or not.
Nonetheless, it might not be a big issue, as Glasner did not about it during his pre-match or post-match press conferences. So, Uche will likely return to action for the club soon.
The 22-year-old midfielder has not started any game for the Eagles since joining from Getafe in the summer. But he will be hoping that his fortunes improve and he gets enough game time.
