John Hughes has told Sol Bamba he will not be part of Hibernian's Europa League debut - and the Easter Road manager will not waste his time thinking about the defender's long-term future.
The Ivory Coast defender, who has a year left on his contract, reported back for pre-season training on Monday, a week later than expected.
"He is back training with us but he'll not be travelling," Hughes said. "All our preparations have been looking forward to the European tie. Sol has not been part of it. He is training with the kids and our focus is on Thursday night."
The 25-year-old had asked for extra time off after his trip to the World Cup, where he failed to play any games after being troubled by a persistent knee problem.
However, he returned too late to be considered for the first leg of the third qualifying round, and will train with the youth team as his team-mates prepare to face Maribor in Slovenia on Thursday night.
Hughes is not even considering what will happen with Bamba when they return from Slovenia.
"It doesn't interest me," the former Falkirk manager said. "I owe it to my team, the supporters, the club, to put all my focus on this European tie.
"That's why we took a real hard pre-season in Holland, nine days, four real tough matches against good European opposition that will keep the ball, move us about a lot.
"It was a great experience - Sol wasn't part of that.
"The guys that rolled their sleeves up and gave me everything, they are the ones that will be going with me for Thursday."
Source: PA
