Nabil Bentaleb has been told to train alone until further notice and the former Newcastle United midfielder will leave Schalke in the coming months.
The 26-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan at the Magpies but Steve Bruce ultimately opted not to make that a move a permanent one.
Bentaleb had previously been out of favour at Schalke because of disciplinary issues but the Algeria international returned to the first-team set-up last summer and has since made eight appearances for Die Königsblauen , who are bottom of the Bundesliga.
In fact, Bentaleb came on in the 2-0 defeat against Wolfsburg on Saturday but Schalke have now taken the extraordinary step of confirming that the midfielder and team-mate Amine Hart will now train away from the first team while striker Vedad Ibisevic's contract will be terminated at the end of the year.
In a statement on the club's website, Schalke said they took this step because of the 'difficult sporting situation and the five important Bundesliga games until the Christmas break'.
“He is undisputedly an excellent footballer," Jochen Schneider, the club's sporting director, told the club's website about Bentaleb. "There are no two opinions.
"However, we have to realise that Schalke and Nabil Bentaleb obviously don't go together. There wasn't that one moment. It was a process. They will part ways by the summer of 2021 at the latest."
Bentaleb made 15 appearances while on loan at Newcastle and was one of three loan signings Bruce made in January alongside Valentino Lazaro and Danny Rose.
