Agbonlahor left off Aston Villa squad pending shisha investigation

Gabriel Agbonlahor will not be available for Aston Villa's match against Chelsea on Saturday as the club investigates claims the player was caught smoking a shisha pipe during the international break.

The English forward was pictured with the shisha pipe while he was on a trip to Dubai.

(Courtesy: The Mirror)

While the club did not disclose the exact reason for his absence, it announced that an investigation into the matter will be conducted internally and Agbonlahor will not feature in the squad until its conclusion.

Caretaker manager Eric Black, who took over for Remi Garde after the Frenchman departed Villa by mutual consent, explained that Agbonlahor's exclusion from the team was a move designed to avoid distractions.

"I'll speak to him again on Monday and then we'll take it from there," Black told reporters. "He's back in and reporting for training.

"I'm not going to go into the details because the investigation is ongoing. I want us to get back to football and football alone."

While smoking tobacco out of a shisha is not illegal, the club and supporters may be annoyed by the fact that Agbonlahor was out partying amidst one of the low points of the franchise's history. Aston Villa currently sits in the basement of the Premier League with 16 points - 12 points from safety - through 31 matches.

The Mirror reports that Agbonlahor was joined by Villa teammate Micah Richards, as well as Crystal Palace's Dwight Gayle and Fraizer Campbell.