Despite Wales being eliminated at the first hurdle at the World Cup, Aaron Ramsey is yet to return to club side OGC Nice according to manager Lucien Favre.
Hopes were high for a Welsh side competing in their first World Cup for more than 60 years, but after a 1-1 draw with the USA in their opening game was followed by two successive defeats against Iran and England they were swfitly sent packing. Ramsey featured in all three fixtures.
The Premier League returned on Boxing Day and with that so did plenty of players who had represented their country at a further stage of the World Cup than Ramsey. The Welshman's former side Arsenal had Bukayo Saka score one of their three goals against West Ham and play the full 90 minutes despite England reaching the last eight.
The likes of Ivan Perisic and Raphael Varane, both of whom starred in the final weekend of the tournament during the third-place play-off and the final itself respectively, also played for their clubs Tottenham and Manchester United in their first league game back.
Therefore, it makes Ramsey's Nice absence all the more bizarre, especially as Favre revealed he hadn't actually had any contact with the 32-year-old.
Speaking to the media before Nice's first Ligue 1 clash back against Lens on Thursday, Favre explained how he feels the nature of Wales' World Cup exit may still be haunting Ramsey and could be the reason behind why he is yet to train ahead of the second half of the season.
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"No, he didn't come back," he said. "I think the World Cup was hard for him to digest. We'll see after.
"No [I haven't spoken to him]. I could, but... There you go. I answered... He was very disappointed with the World Cup. He takes his time to really recover."
Ramsey has struggled since leaving Juventus and upping sticks to the south of France and only started in five of Nice's 15 league fixtures this term.
With that being said, it is not as if Ramsey has been a fringe player, with the Welshman appearing in all bar three of Nice's games.
This sorry saga is just the latest low in what has been a dire chapter of Ramsey's career recently, with the ex-Gunner's last six months as a Juventus player actually spent on loan at Scottish giants Rangers - where he missed the crucial penalty in their Europa League final defeat by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Ramsey has just one goal to show for his time at Nice so far, which came all the way back in August on his debut for the club.
