Joey Barton has been suspended for the remainder of the season by Manchester City.
Although the Eastlands outfit have refused to name the player, it is thought Barton has been punished by manager Stuart Pearce for a training ground altercation with team-mate Ousmane Dabo.
The midfielder, who is no stranger to controversy, will now miss Saturday’s Manchester derby at Eastlands as well as the final game of the season against Tottenham, and there must be some doubt as to whether the Merseysider will ever play for the club again.
Barton’s agent Willie McKay played down the incident.
He told BBC Sport: "As far as I’ve heard, he was defending himself. But because it is Joey it makes headlines.’’
McKay added: "It happens on training grounds all over the country, from Chelsea to Yeovil.’’
City’s head of communications Paul Tyrrell said in a statement: "We can confirm that a player has been suspended until the end of the season, pending an internal investigation into a training incident at the Carrington complex.
"The club will be making no further comment at this time.’’
It is the latest in a string of recent problems Pearce has had to deal with during a difficult season in which many fans have called for his head.
First skipper Richard Dunne then, much more forcefully, England midfielder Barton have criticised some of their team-mates in interviews.
Barton went so far as to claim he would not have paid to watch City in action this season such has been the lack of entertainment at Eastlands.
Saturday’s loss to Aston Villa means Pearce’s men have still not scored a Premiership goal on home soil since New Year’s Day, a sorry run that will be extended until August at least should they fail to find the net against United.
Boos have rung around Eastlands after almost every game this season, with Pearce’s credibility among City fans not helped by the manner in which he pursued the job of coaching England’s Under-21 side even though members of the Blues hierarchy made it plain they felt it would have a detrimental effect on his job.