Nigeria international midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo has not played in the last four games for English Championship side Stoke City, who are currently in a battle to retain their second division status.
Etebo’s lack of action has divided fans of the club with many unhappy that coach Michael O’Neil is leaving out a player who was voted their player of the season at the end of last season. His situation has led to talks about a rift with the manager.
24 year old Etebo who has three more years to run on his deal at the club was demoted to the U23 team two days ago while the rest of the team were gearing up for their Championship game against Luton Town.
He was on for the U23s in their 1-0 win over Sunderland and wasn’t listed yesterday as the first team secure a 3-0 win to move up to 16th on the league table. His recent lack of games has been explained by assistant manager Billy McKinlay.
“Badou, after Saturday, had a virus over the last couple of days. I don’t know if he picked that off Cam (Carter-Vickers).
“Peter missed a few days’ training last week and we felt that he hadn’t played much football so we felt it was better that he played the game last night, which he did.
“Peter came through that game all right. He played the full game and produced a good level of performance. That’s him back in the fold and we’re looking forward to him being available for Saturday in that sense”, the coach explained.
