Jadon Sancho has been suspended by Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre after returning late from international duty with England.
Sancho was not included in the Dortmund team for the match, and the club’s official Twitter account posted that his exclusion was down to “disciplinary measures.”
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Sancho, 19, featured in both of the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 qualifiers this week, starting in the 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic and coming off the bench in the 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria — a game marred by racist abuse aimed at England’s black players.
As recently as Thursday Favre had spoken about Sancho, saying in a prematch news conference: “The expectations for Jadon are enormous, but that is dangerous.”
The manager played coy on Saturday though, saying: “I no longer want to talk about it. Today is today and tomorrow is another day. We will not make it public.”
Meanwhile, Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc said: “We have a responsibility for the club and, in this case, also for the hygiene of the squad.
“And therefore the decision was without an alternative. [Sancho] trained alone today and we’d like to think he’ll be back against Inter.
“He is only suspended today. Jadon is a good lad, but he’s very young and shot to the top. He might test his limits and that’s why we decided to not call him up today.”
This weekend’s suspension does not mark the first time that Sancho’s punctuality lapses have seen him clash with a Dortmund coach.
In the 2017-2018 season, his first in Germany, Sancho was demoted to the reserves by then-coach Peter Stoger for showing up late to training sessions on more than one occasion.
Dortmund boss Favre himself is under fire ahead of the match against league leaders Monchengladbach, with BVB drawing their last three league games 2-2 and dropping to ninth in the Bundesliga.
Having blown a nine-point lead at the top of the table last term, and after investing €125 million during the summer transfer window, Dortmund hoped to mount a title challenge this season. But as things stand, they could now face a tough fight to qualify for the Champions League.