Former Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has suffered a blow after Marseille chose not to include him in their squad for the Europa League group stage.

Marseille snapped up Diaby on a free transfer earlier this summer after Arsenal chose to release him.




The injury plagued midfielder was offered a contract by Premier League side West Brom, but chose to return to his homeland to link up with Marseille.

Diaby has yet to play for Marseille as he works on his fitness and the French club have sent out a clear signal they do not expect him to be up to speed soon by omitting him from their Europa League squad.
 

 

On 26th August, Marseille announced that Diaby was following a special programme to work on his fitness, but it is not enough to put him in contention to play in the Europa League.

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Marseille have been placed in Group F in the Europa League, along with Dutch outfit FC Groningen, Czech side Slovan Liberec and Portuguese club Braga.

The French side start their campaign by travelling to the Netherlands to play Groningen on 17th September.