Roma manager Jose Mourinho has issued a public apology to Renato Sanches after substituting him just 18 minutes after bringing him on.
Roma were beaten 2-0 by Bologna on Sunday night, a result which leaves Mourinho's side seventh in Serie A – three points off the Champions League places.
Nikola Moro and an own goal from Rasmus Kristensen either side of half time secured victory for Bologna, who are now fourth in the table.
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The final result was somewhat overshadowed by a bizarre incident involved former Bayern Munich and Benfica midfielder Sanches.
The midfielder, who is on loan at Roma from PSG, was introduced by Mourinho at half-time with Bologna leading the match 1-0.
But he was hauled off by his manager just 18 minutes later.
To make matters worse for the Portuguese player, Mourinho gave him the cold shoulder as he was leaving the pitch.
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The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham manager did not even look in Sanches' direction as he left the game.
After the match, Mourinho spoke to DAZN (via OneFootball) about the unusual substitution and apologised to Sanches.
"I want to publicly apologise to Renato Sanches, it's very hard for a footballer, but it's also hard for a coach, I've done it 3-4 times in my career and it's not easy," he said.
Mourinho has restricted Sanches to just nine appearances in all competitions this season, the majority from the bench.
Speaking in September, Mourinho called out the midfiedler and his teammate Houssem Aouar for being "always injured".
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"They [Renato Sanches and Houssem Aouar] have to play, they need rhythm and intensity," said Mourinho.
"That's what Renato is, he's always at risk, it's difficult to understand: Bayern didn't understand him, PSG didn't understand him and we have difficulties.
"He played 45 minutes on Sunday, then had three days of rest and left after 27 minutes'.
"He is always in doubt, it is difficult to understand why he is always injured. Aouar played the necessary time to regain the rhythm of the game."
Topics: AS Roma, Jose Mourinho, Renato Sanches, Football, Serie A
Rory O'Callaghan