Diatta should be playing again soon

Senegalese international Lamine Diatta could soon be back in the Rennes' line-up after being punished following a row with his coach.

It follows a dispute on the training pitch and his refusal to go to a meeting the next day to discuss the incident.

But the French club says the player should be back in the first team before the end of the season.

Diatta recently claimed that his days with the first division side were over after a dispute with coach Vahid Halilhodzic.

But Rennes' sporting director Pierre Dreossi said the player still had a future at the club.

"He'll be back when Vahid Halilhodzic judges him useful. Nothing's ever definite in football," he said.

"It's a temporary decision like the one handed down to Toifilou Maoulida a couple of months ago," he added.

Maoulida was removed from the first team after turning up late for a training session in October.

This is not the first time that Diatta has been in trouble with Halilhodzic.

The player and former team-mate Anthony Reveillere were sent home after being found at midnight playing video games in their hotel room on the eve of a league match.