Southampton

Sofiane Boufal training with Southampton Under-23s following Mark Hughes row

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 26 April 2018

Southampton manager Mark Hughes reveals that Sofiane Boufal will remain absent from his squad for the meeting with Bournemouth after showing a lack of discipline.

Mark Hughes has confirmed that Sofiane Boufal has been sent to train with Southampton's Under-23s side following a falling out between the pair a fortnight ago.

Boufal is alleged to have angered his manager when refusing to warm up during the Saints' 3-2 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on April 14.

Having started Hughes's first two matches in charge, the 24-year-old has now been left out of the squad for the last two matches, including last weekend's FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Asked to comment on the incident at his pre-match presser ahead of the Bournemouth match on Saturday, the Welshman told reporters: "He made a mistake which he has acknowledged to me since. At the moment he is training with the U23s but he has missed a few days because he was ill.

"Given where we are at the moment, he is probably best served just training with a different group just to make people aware it shouldn't have happened.

"He understands that now and he probably needs to build a little bit of trust with his own teammates and that is the process we are working towards. He won't be involved this weekend."

Boufal has played a direct part in just four Premier League goals in 26 appearances this season.