In a move that many believe could signal the end of his Hibs career, AWOL defender Sol Bamba has hit out at the club.
Bamba was due to re-join the squad at the Hibees pre-season training camp in Holland on the 19th July, but failed to show up.
Now the 25-year-old Ivorian has reacted to manager John Hughes’ comments, and a statement posted on the club’s official website.
The former Dunfermline man goes as far as to deny that he agreed to return on the 19th of July, and that Hibs even expected him back sooner.
He said:
"I've had a whole of family and friends on the phone who have been worried something had happened to me after what they read in the newspapers," he said yesterday.
"To be honest, I'm angry about the way the club has gone about making this public. I have never cheated anyone at Hibs, I've always given everything for the team. The manager knows that, too.
“I tried to speak with the manager and the chairman to explain the situation. My agent also phoned them to ask if I could have some extra time off.
"Since last May, I haven't had a break and I wanted to take about three weeks off after the World Cup to recharge.
"I played something like 59 games for Hibs last season, plus the African Nations Cup and then in South Africa. Obviously, I didn't play at the finals, but I was training hard every day over there and before the tournament to make sure I'd be 100 per cent ready if I got my chance.
“There was a lot of travelling involved, too. We were stuck in an airport for two days in Africa and I didn't get back to Paris until 1 July.
"Hibs were expecting me to return to Scotland barely ten days later on 12 July.
"I don't know why they now told the newspapers I was supposed to back on the 19th. I never agreed to that either. I'm very disappointed in the way the whole thing has come out."
He also added:
"I get back to Edinburgh at the weekend and I am looking forward to speaking to the club about everything that's happened. I've even been working with a fitness coach in Paris to make sure I'm 100 per cent fit when I get back.
“I'm a Hibs player and I'll come back and be ready to work as hard as ever for the club.
"The manager knows me - he knows that. They may want to punish me with a fine, but that's something we can speak about. I've done this because I think it's the right thing."
The only problem for Bamba is that the Ivory Coast were knocked out of the World Cup on the 24th June, some FOUR weeks ago.
He also didn’t appear in any games due to injury, meaning his last competitive match was some EIGHT weeks ago, against Paraguay in a pre-World Cup Friendly on the 30th May, which ended in a 2-2 draw.
His statement that he played 52 games for the club last season is also WELL wide of the mark.
Hibs only played 44 games last season, and that includes both cup competitions, you also have to take in to account that Bamba missed a large chunk of the season, while away with the Ivory Coast at the African Nations Cup.
So his appearance count is more than likely less than 40 for last season.
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