Bongani Zungu has come under fire in France, following his coach's latest damning comments on the player's conditioning.
Despite the French Ligue 2 being 14 matches in, Zungu is yet to feature for Amiens, to whom he returned, following a loan spell with Scottish champions Rangers FC last season.
The latest setback for the 29-year-old has been his struggle with weight.
According to the player's coach Philippe Hinschberger, the Duduza-born midfielder does not meet the required expectation with regards to his physique, which has cast doubts over whether Zungu will feature for the French outfit this season.
"Bongani Zungu is not ready at all to play. His issue is that he has a weight problem," he told French media when quizzed about Zungu's absence.
"He's been working on this for a while and he's now on more than just one session a day. I've spoken to him about it, but the player himself must take charge. We're doing the maximum we can with him."
Hinschberger maintains that Zungu undoubtedly still possesses the technical ability that initially caught the eye of Amiens four seasons ago; however, he is in no shape to warrant a place in the German's starting XI – or the bench, just yet.
"He remains very good with the ball and can read the game, but he still carries weight and does not have the physique of a professional footballer," he added.
Zungu will see his Amiens contract come to an end on June 2022, which makes the midfielder eligible to sign a pre-contract with a team of his choice in two months' time, in January.
