Called up to the Espoirs but ultimately forfeited for the selection gathering, Quentin Merlin trained normally this Thursday with Olympique de Marseille. A new episode in the sometimes tense relations between the Marseille club and the Bleuets management despite a joint decision to leave him at the disposal of Roberto De Zerbi during the break.
It is in front of his television that Quentin Merlin will watch the Bleuets' friendly matches against Italy and Germany this Friday and next Tuesday. Called by Gérald Baticle, the OM defender finally withdrew from the rally and the Espoirs coach summoned the Monegasque Kassoum Ouattara to replace him.
If his package suggested a physical problem and the fact that the defender was affected or weakened, Quentin Merlin participated normally at the start of the Phocéens training session this Thursday at the Commanderie under the direction of Roberto De Zerbi and his staff.
Merlin stayed in Marseille as a precaution
However, if he was not obliged to travel to Clairefontaine to have a possible physical problem noted, Quentin Merlin was indeed declared unfit for the gathering of Hopes.
According to information from RMC Sport, this is prevention and a precautionary principle. There were thus discussions between the French Football Federation and the Marseille club. OM provided the final examinations of Quentin Merlin's thigh and both parties felt it was better to leave him at the club's disposal to fully let him heal.
Quentin back after several weeks on the sidelines
If we could have believed in a new episode in the complicated relations between OM and the Bleuets staff, this is not quite the case since Quentin Merlin was authorized not to go to the selection for this gathering. The Marseille club, however, did not appreciate the fact of having recovered its injured player after the September break. The Phocéens had pointed the finger at coach Gérald Baticle for his management of the 22-year-old full-back who should have been preserved, according to Marseille, after an alert to the same thigh.
Indisputable holder in the left lane of the OM defense at the start of the season, Quentin Merlin was stopped in his tracks after his passage to the selection. Back in Ligue 1 at the beginning of November, Quentin Merlin started in Nantes and against Auxerre after around two months of absence.
But the left back only played one hour against the Canaries and one period against the Burgundians. This Thursday, he participated normally in an opposition on reduced ground near the Commanderie. Enough to facilitate his presence on the field, on November 23, during the 12th day of the championship and OM's trip to Lens.
