José Mourinho has shipped Felix Afena-Gyan back to the Primavera after five months with the first team for disciplinary reasons. The youngster missed the Spezia game because of a hip contusion and was spotted at a nightclub until early hours afterward, La Repubblica reports.
The starlet will have to win back the trust of the coach in training. The punishment has raised some doubts, though. Nicolò Zaniolo and Stephan El Shaarawy did the same thing after the Verona match. However, they mostly got away scot-free, even though the former unusually came off the bench Sunday.
It is possible that Mourinho decided to make an example out of Afena-Gyan due to the repeated infractions within the squad. The starlet started in four of the last six Serie A fixtures. However, he has not been able to replicate the success he had right away. The two goals ha bagged versus Genoa in November remain his lone ones in the season.
It is not the first time the Portuguese gaffer goes hard on his players. He banished a foursome following the collapse against Bodo/Glimt. Gonzalo Villar and Borja Mayoral eventually left the club in January, while Amadou Diawara has not featured in months. Marash Kumbulla has been the only one to bounce back and re-enter the fold.
Mourinho has not been shy in fielding youngsters if they proved they deserved it practice, and Afena-Gyan will have another opportunity down the line. Edoardo Bove, Nicola Zalewski, and Cristian Volpato have gotten some minutes lately, with strong returns.