SNS GroupAberdeen will be without forward Duk Lopes when they start their season against Queen of the South, with the player missing due to “internal issues”.
As he prepared for his first competitive game since taking charge at Pittodrie, manager Jimmy Thelin admitted he will be short of one of his attacking options.
“With Duk, he is not going to be inside the squad,” said Thelin.
“Right now we have some internal issues about the Duk situation, that is all I can say about that.”
An Aberdeen spokesperson later said: “Duk has failed to report to training and is currently absent without permission. The club has made attempts to communicate with Duk but he has refused to engage with us directly. He is now subject to internal disciplinary proceedings”.
Duk arrived at the club from Benfica in 2022 for an undisclosed fee and the Cape Verde international enjoyed a strong start to his career.
The forward was not a regular starter last season as Aberdeen struggled and ended up in the bottom six.
His agent has been quoted recently as saying that he sees Duk’s future as being away from Pittodrie, and the 24-year-old is in the last year of his contract.
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