The midfielder was dismissed in farcical circumstances to somewhat overshadow a much needed Aston Villa win.
Although the whole Leandro Bacuna incident is in danger of being blown a little out of proportion, Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce has hinted unsurprisingly to the Birmingham Mail that the Dutchman is perhaps not the easiest player to work with.
The midfielder had played a starring role in Villa’s 1-0 win against Derby County on Saturday, the club’s first victory in 2017, after being handed a rare opportunity to impress in the absence of Conor Hourihane.
And it seemed as if Bacuna had done his chances of more regular action in the starting XI no harm until, with just a few minutes on the clock, the 25-year-old took rather severe issue with the linesman handing Derby a throw-in at Villa’s expense, barging into the official and copping the most avoidable straight red card.
However, Bruce hardly seems surprised by the whole affair.
“He’s overstepped the mark and done something stupid. Unfortunately that’s Leo,” the under-pressure Villa boss told the Birmingham Mail.
“With Leo it’s all about himself. He tests the manager every day, He’s always late. He’s in at 9.29am if we’re in at 9.30am. If it’s 1pm, he’s here at 12.59pm.
“Maybe it’s just his nature.”
Bacuna had started just half of Aston Villa’s Championship fixtures and, according to Bruce, would have been the first name on the team-sheet for the midweek clash with Bristol City.
Although with a potential four-match ban, not to mention a hefty internal fine, hanging over him, the versatile midfielder appears to have been shunted all the way back to square one.
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