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News out of France broke earlier today that Bayern Munich loanee Michaël Cuisance did not take part in team training in Marseille and that a small group of players could be excluded permanently as the squad starts to focus on building a foundation for next season.
“We’re training with a group to try to strengthen the emotional bond and see who we can count on in the future. We want to avoid what we saw against AS Saint-Etienne,” said Olympique Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli to RMC Sport (as captured by Sport1).
Cuisance was one of a small group of players held out.
After Marseille’s loss to AS Saint-Etienne, Sampaoli implied that some players have lost focus and were fixated on their respective futures.
Was Cuisance included that group? It appears so, but there is also some thought that Cuisance could be battling an injury:
According to La Provence newspaper, Cuisance left Wednesday’s training session in pain. So it could also be a precautionary measure.
Other reports, however, leave no doubt on what is happening with Cuisance:
Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli appears to confirm that Michaël Cuisance, Valère Germain, Christopher Rocchia & Saîf-Eddine Khaoui will all be excluded from 1st team training for the rest of the season - via @Nicommentator.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) May 14, 2021