Wolves defender Jonny Otto swung an elbow towards under-21s forward Tawanda Chirewa and damaged items in the players’ room in the incident that led to him being exiled from the first team.
The former Spain international also spat at a member of the coaching staff who tried to drag him away from the clash with Chirewa during a training session at Compton Park.
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The 29-year-old appears to have played his final first-team game for Wolves following a statement last week confirming he would train away from his senior colleagues until at least the end of January.
Jonny, who was a key figure in the successful Wolves teams of Nuno Espirito Santo but has fallen out of favour in the last two seasons, is now expected to leave Wolves during next month’s transfer window.
The Athletic can now reveal details of the incident, which initially led to Jonny being told to stay away from the training ground ahead of Wolves’ 2-1 defeat to Arsenal nine days ago.
Jonny is understood to have been annoyed by a challenge from Chirewa during training in the week before the Arsenal game and reacted angrily towards the former Ipswich Town forward.
He aimed an elbow at Chirewa although did not make contact. The 20-year-old was not injured as a result of the altercation and remained on the field and finished the session.
Jonny clashed with Chirewa in training (Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)Fellow players were then left stunned as a member of the coaching staff entered the training field to defuse the situation only to then be spat at by Jonny, who was subsequently ordered to leave the field and return inside the buildings at the training ground.
It was then that he took out his frustration on equipment in the players’ room, where first-team players relax before and after training, smashing a TV and causing damage to a table before being sent home.
Wolves took action last week when, despite Jonny apologising for his actions during a meeting with sporting director Matt Hobbs, Wolves announced that he will stay away from the first-team group until at least the end of January, allowing Hobbs and Jonny’s representatives the chance to arrange his exit during the transfer window.
Hobbs said: “I’ve sat down with him, he’s apologised, and we have outlined the way forward. We had a conversation and have agreed that at least until the end of the January window he won’t be part of the first-team group.
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“He will still be training at the club and, if he chooses, he can play for the under-21s to keep up his match sharpness, and I think, knowing him, he’ll probably do that.
“This is a guy who has been a great servant to the football club. One incident doesn’t define the role he’s played during the successful times and the man he is day to day around the place.
“Everybody has moments and that’s all it was, but we have to deal with it and move forward for the wider group.”
Jonny joined Wolves in 2018 and has gone on to make 134 appearances for the club (Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)Chirewa, who joined Wolves from Ipswich in the summer, has progressed quickly through the ranks and has become a member of the first-team squad in recent weeks.
He has been an unused substitute for the last three Premier League games, coinciding with Jonny’s absence.
Wolves did not specify what will happen beyond January should Jonny be unable to secure a move away.
Jonny has played just four minutes in the Premier League this season, as a substitute in the 2-1 home win against Manchester City, as well as starting the 5-0 home win against Blackpool in the EFL Cup and the 3-2 defeat at Ipswich in the same competition.
“It might seem big because someone’s been removed from the group, but it’s not,” said Hobbs.
“When you’re trying to create a culture, keeping everything aligned, sometimes things happen which aren’t what you want to be and where we want to go.
“Now it’s dealt with. It’s not something Gary’s had to deal with, we’ve dealt with it as a football club and allowed Gary to focus on getting the team ready for the important games coming up.
“It makes sense to take it up to then (the end of January) because a lot of things can change between now and then, and then we’ll sit down, talk again and decide the way forward.
“December’s a busy month with lots of points to play for and lots of games we feel we can be really competitive in. That always has to be the focus.”
GO DEEPER
Jonny's Wolves legacy is complicated - there will always be a cloud over it
(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)
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