Transfer-listed Bloemfontein Celtic midfielder Lantshene Phalane is expected to resume training with the first team sometime this week, having been sent away to train with the development side as punishment for allegedly coming to training smelling of alcohol, a club source revealed.
“Phalane will join the first team this week after three weeks with the development team. He came to training smelling of alcohol last month ... and that didn’t sit well with the management, hence he was punished through being dropped to the development team,’’ said the informant.
The source also disclosed that Phalane was undergoing therapy and aiming to rehabilitate himself. In January, then Celtic CEO Khumbulani Konco told this newspaper that Phalane was still transfer-listed, despite his great form at the time. He won the Man of the Match award against Mamelodi Sundowns in January.
“The boy is trying to get his act together. He’s seeing some therapists, hoping he can be helped with his drinking problem. Luckily the chairman [Max Tshabalala] believes in him ... he likes him a lot and if it wasn’t for that the boy’s career would have been over a long time ago,” continued the mole.
Phalane couldn’t be reached for comment as he didn't answer his phone. Tshabalala refused to detail Phalane’s situation, claiming there was an article on their website where they clarified everything about the gifted holding midfielder training with the reserves. However, there was no such article on the website.
“I won’t comment about Phalane because we’ve written an article on our website. That article says all about the Phalane issue of training with the development,” Tshabalala said before hanging up his phone.
The 31-year-old Phalane has featured in 13 games across all competitions this season, with no goal. In the past few months, the former Baroka skipper was linked to teams like Kaizer Chiefs and SuperSport United.
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