Aston Villa lost 2-1 away at Norwich City on Tuesday night.
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith has told the Birmingham Mail that he left Yannick Bolasie out of his squad to face Norwich City last night in order to leave him working at the training ground ahead of the clash with Queens Park Rangers on Friday.
Villa beat Swansea City 1-0 in their first game under Smith on Saturday afternoon, and then made the trip down to Carrow Road last night to take on in-form Norwich.
Smith saw his side take the lead through James Chester’s first half goal, but two Jordan Rhodes strikes in the second half turned the game on its head and handed Norwich all three points.
Smith made changes from the side which beat Swansea, but also went with Anwar El Ghazi on the bench, having left the Dutchman out of the squad entirely just days earlier.
The man to miss out from Saturday’s bench was fellow wide man Bolasie, with the Everton loanee – brought in by Steve Bruce last month – not even named as a substitute.
The DR Congo international was seen as a huge coup for Villa, but has yet to really make an impact. All seven of Bolasie’s appearances in a Villa shirt have been as a substitute, and whilst he has scored two goals, he is still waiting for his firs start.
Many have been left wondering just why Bolasie wasn’t in the Villa squad, and Smith has offered a clear explanation; Bolasie was left back at the training ground to do ‘strength work’ and get himself in better shape for the trip to Queens Park Rangers on Friday night, where Villa will hope to unleash a fit and firing Bolasie.
“I felt Yannick could do some strength work back at the training ground and get himself ready for Friday,” Smith said.
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