Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche was a surprise absentee from Crystal Palace’s matchday squad for their Premier League clash against Bournemouth at Selhurst Park on Saturday.
Uche was recently on international duty with Nigeria after receiving a late call-up to replace the injured Cyriel Dessers. However, he did not feature in either of the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Benin Republic.
With club football resuming over the weekend, most Nigerian players who represented the country during the break returned to their clubs and even featured in games. But Uche was missing entirely from Palace’s squad — a surprise omission considering he has made the bench in every match he’s been available for this season.
The match ended in a 3–3 draw, with Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring a hat-trick for Palace.
According to reports from We Are Palace, head coach Oliver Glasner dropped Uche from the squad because the midfielder arrived late from international duty. However, it remains unclear when Uche returned to London or whether the decision was meant as a disciplinary measure.
Glasner did not comment on the issue in his pre-match or post-match press conferences, suggesting it may not be a serious matter.
The 22-year-old, who joined Crystal Palace from Getafe in the summer, is yet to start a game for the club. He will be hoping to put the incident behind him and fight for more playing time in the coming weeks.