Super Eagles star dropped by club for returning late from Nigeria

Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche was dropped from the Crystal Palace squad in the weekend's Premier League defeat to Bournemouth. According to reports, this was because he returned late from international duty.

Uche was a late addition to Eric Chelle's squad for the last international window, replacing the injured Cyriel Dessers.

The former Getafe man did not feature in either of the games against Lesotho and Benin, remaining an unused substitute for both matches. 

Upon the Premier League return this weekend, he was left out of Palace’s squad altogether. According to We Are Palace, this happened because he returned late from international duty. 

However, it remains unclear whether this was a punishment or down to fitness issues if the lateness prevented him from joining in enough pre-match training sessions. 

 Uche joined Crystal Palace from Getafe in the summer, signing a one-year loan deal. Reports around the transfer placed the permanent valuation at roughly €20–22m (loan with an obligation/structured fee). 

Palace have slowly integrated the 22-year-old midfielder-cum-forward into Oliver Glasner’s squad after his arrival. He has so far made only two substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Eagles for a combined 25 minutes. He also came on ar half-time in the EFL Cup victory against Millwall.