Pablo Hernandez was not called up by Spain for the international break, but he still managed to find some space and tuck away one of his trademark strikes into the bottom corner nonetheless.
No, the 35-year-old has not appeared for his country for 10 years. While Hernandez did not feature in any games during the interlude, he did find some success on social media.
It was a picture on his Instagram profile which Hernandez lined up for the bottom corner. It found its audience and seems to have taken much of the sting out of something which could have escalated.
You will all know about what happened at Crystal Palace by now. Marcelo Bielsa admitted he left a fully-fit Hernandez, the club’s talisman of four years, out of his squad entirely without any meaningful explanation.
We are still yet to hear a specific rationale from Bielsa, but without addressing his exclusion explicitly, Hernandez intimated it was because of his reaction to being substituted against Leicester City.
The apology came six days after the incident and the morning after Bielsa’s post-Palace comments. You can join the dots and make your own conclusions. The point is, the Spaniard saw there was a need to nip an issue in the bud and did so.
Bielsa speaks for the first time since his Selhurst Park debrief this afternoon. Time will tell whether he is asked or makes any mention of Hernandez’s selection, but as it stands, there is bound to be some debate about how the head coach manages this next.
Given how surprising it was to see Hernandez axed in the first place, whether it was for a disciplinary reason or not, it would surely be beyond Bielsa to leave the Spaniard out again, especially with another two weeks under the bridge.
All eyes will be on Sunday’s 3.30pm teamsheet for some form of resolution to the matter, but do not be surprised if Hernandez does not return to the starting line-up.
Rodrigo’s apparent recovery from COVID-19, and Instagram video suggesting as such, pretty much takes the decision out of Bielsa’s hands.
Provided the Spain international has been able to train adequately during his isolation period, you would have to think his prior form immediately brings him back into the fold alongside Mateusz Klich.
Hernandez has to be expected on the bench if he’s fit. If he is left out again, then further questioning of Bielsa will ensue and there will be a justifiable demand for answers on what is going on behind the scenes.
Let’s see what comes of today’s press conference.
