Aberdeen happy after AWOL Aluko gets home

Published on Friday 18 September 2009 22:46

SONE Aluko is fit and available for selection for Aberdeen's SPL match against St Mirren today after arriving home from a training camp with the Nigeria Under-20 squad.

Aluko went AWOL earlier this week when he headed off to Spain to prepare for the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt without the permission of the Pittodrie club. Dons manager Mark McGhee had been concerned the 20-year-old winger was carrying an Achilles injury and urged the Nigeria Football Federation to release him immediately.

Reports early yesterday suggested that Aluko was defying the club's wishes to return to Scotland and was certain to miss today's visit of St Mirren. But last night Aberdeen released a statement to announce that the player was back home, while McGhee described the saga as merely a "misunderstanding".

"Sone Aluko today returned to Aberdeen as requested by manager Mark McGhee," said the club statement. "Sone has been declared fit by the medical team and will play some role in tomorrow's match against St Mirren before returning to join his team-mates in Egypt for the Under-20 World Cup. Everyone at Aberdeen Football Club wishes Sone and his Nigerian team-mates the best of luck for the upcoming tournament."

McGhee, insisting that there was no bad blood between Aluko and the club, said: "It was important for everybody that it was resolved and, to be honest, it was the outcome that I had always anticipated. I now understand that Sone left on Tuesday in good faith and has returned to Aberdeen to explain his understanding of events, which he has done to my satisfaction.

"The important thing was that Sone came back and that we got the opportunity to sit down and explain ourselves. After that I had a clear picture that nothing Sone had done was in anything less than good faith. Really, it was the result of a bit of a misunderstanding."

McGhee said he would never deny Aluko the chance to play in the Under-20 tournament. "It is one of these tournaments where it is not compulsory for us to release him but how can we possibly stand in the way of any boy having that sort of experience?," added the manager, whose side go into today's match with St Mirren on the back of three clean sheets.

"What I anticipate is that the experience is going to be so good for Sone and he is going to come back a better player, with his ambitions charged and his mind broadened. He is going to be a bigger asset than ever for us."