Less than a week after having his suspension lifted Joey Barton has reported in sick to Sevco.
The development has been reported by the usual suspects alongside claims that he is close to settling a deal to quit the club permanently.
Barton’s camp will naturally be very concerned that such confidential information has been made public with only two sources for the information.
How a doctors line for stress ties in with being close to agreement on terminating a contract is anyone’s guess.
In most working environments extra care and attention would be given to an employee that is suffering from stress.
When the employee has just returned from a lengthy suspension for no apparent reason then the employer has a duty of care to ensure that the return to work is managed as sympathetically as possible.
Barton was suspended following what has been reported as a training ground bust up with Andy Halliday and Mark Warburton following the 5-1 hammering from Celtic.
Most clubs would encourage players to let off steam and solve problems on the training ground rather than turn it into a drama. The fact that Barton remained on full pay would suggest that he was in the right.
Barton signed a two year contract during the summer on a deal worth around £25,000 and was used extensively to sell season tickets on the #goingfor55 slogan.
Sevco are currently 11 points behind leaders Celtic and nine ahead of bottom placed Ross County.
