Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has accused midfielder Ross Barkley of showing “a lack of professionalism” after he was pictured shirtless in a nightclub in Dubai.
The 25-year-old, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury, has been left in London while the Blues take on Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
The recent incident does not bode well for Barkley who was slammed earlier in the season following a cab incident that took place after the Liverpool game.
But Chelsea boss Lampard insisted Barkley remained in his plans and challenged the England midfielder to get fit and prove his worth on the pitch.
“There are two separate issues, one is the headlines this week, Ross knows how I felt about the first headline,” said Lampard. “I backed him then and I still back him now. But he showed a moment of a lack of professionalism as far as I’m concerned.
“It’s not something that I want to be a pure dictator about and come down hard on because I also understand all my players are humans and have lives. I don’t police every moment of their lives. So I don’t think it’s a terrible thing that he’s done.
“But Ross has had an injury, he’s still kind of carrying an injury, there’s a bit of pain on shooting. So he just has to work his way back in, in terms of the fitness thing, and train well. And I certainly don’t hold anything against my players.
“I like Ross, he’s certainly one of my players. And he needs now to show all his reactions on the pitch.”
Barkley was also in the news on matchday one against Valencia after he missed a crucial late penalty as Chelsea fell to a 1-0 home defeat, which Lampard admits is the reason they are in such a do-or-die position on Wednesday in the return fixture.
