West Brom boss Slaven Bilic says Egyptian defender Ahmed Hegazi was left out of the match day squad to face Brentford due to a training ground incident.
The 28-year-old has had to watch from the substitutes bench for most of the season having struggled to get into the starting XI due to the form of Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley in defence.
However, on Saturday, Hegazi was completely omitted from the match day squad with Dara O’Shea replacing him in the group of 18 players who faced the Bees at the Hawthorns.
The exclusion of Hegazi prompted questions from the fans with many pondering whether he has a future at the club.
Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad are believed to be keen on signing Hegazi when the January transfer window opens and Bilic revealed to Birmingham Live that those transfer rumours played a part in the training ground incident.
However, the Croatian boss neglected to reveal more details about the incident which led to Hegazi’s exclusion froM the squad.
“It has something to do with that. Something happened yesterday on the training ground. It is not something I want to share or discuss with the media.
“It’s a little thing, but it was something that was big enough for him to be not in the squad today.”
Henrik Dalsgaard gave the Bees a deserved lead at the Hawthorns in the 43rd minute but the home side quickly levelled just before half time through Darnell Furlong.
With no goals in the second half, both teams had to settle for a point with the result leaving the Baggies 12 points clear of third-placed Fulham at the summit of the Sky Bet Championship. Brentford drop to fifth after Fulham’s 2-1 win over Leeds United.
