Chelsea loanee Lesley Ugochukwu has deleted all references to Southampton on his Instagram page after he was left out of the squad for the 1-1 draw with Brighton on Friday night.
The 20-year-old, who joined Chelsea in a £23.1 million deal from French side Rennes last year, moved to Southampton on a season-long loan in August.
However, the French midfielder has struggled for playing time under Russell Martin, starting just two of Southampton’s 13 Premier League games so far.
Ugochukwu was not part of Southampton’s travelling squad for their trip to Brighton on Friday and the club’s fans spotted on Saturday that the midfielder has removed all mention of the Saints on his Instagram account.
He will also be ineligible to play in Southampton’s next Premier League game against Chelsea on Wednesday evening.
Chelsea may now opt to recall Ugochukwu in the January transfer window, given his lack of playing time.
Speaking in September, Martin backed Ugochukwu to improve after making his first start in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester United.
‘I thought he was good. I think he’ll get better and better,’ Martin said.
‘I think he is understanding what we want, and what we require from him will continue to grow. So yeah, I thought he was good.
‘He got a bit tired as well. He’d been injured for a while at Chelsea last season and then he came back and was knackered after 60 minutes against Cardiff.
‘Being away on international duty, although he didn’t play, being away is different, your routine, the way you train. He did well and he’s going to be really good.’
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