Middlesbrough manager Garry Monk has revealed that Adama Traore was left out of the squad to face Barnsley after turning up late to the team hotel.
The Smoggies made the trip to South Yorkshire on Friday without the tricky winger among their travelling party, as he failed to arrive at the club's Rockliffe Park HQ on time.
Monk has fined Traore and labelled his behaviour ahead of the 2-2 draw at Oakwell as 'unacceptable', with the former Aston Villa and Barcelona ace now facing an uncertain future at the Riverside Stadium.
"You have to make decisions with a squad in terms of who travels and who doesn't," The Northern Echo quotes Monk as saying. "Ryan [Shotton] was left out. In terms of Adama, he was late for the bus, and you can't be late for the bus. We don't accept that. That's why he wasn't in the squad.
"Those are the rules that every player and everyone has to abide by. We were travelling, he missed the time, and that's why he missed the trip. Like always, we deal with everything in house, but there are certain rules that the group have to follow. We're very focused on them.
"They're very important to us as a group, and the standards that we set, and if you don't come up to those standards then you're not involved in certain situations. Adama missed the bus and that's why he wasn't here. We'll keep everything else in house, get back to work, and focus on the next game."
Traore was dismissed for Boro against Villa last month and then taken off midway through the 2-2 draw with Brentford prior to the international break.
Daniel Lewis
