GERT Schalkwyk might have dashed any hope of resurrecting his career - at least if he still harbours any dreams of doing so at Moroka Swallows.
It was only at the start of this month that the Dube Birds coach, Zeca Marques, praised the 31-year-old for his hard work during his trial period with the side and also advised the former Kaizer Chiefs, Orlando Pirates and Bloemfontein Celtic midfielder on what was expected of him to secure a deal with Swallows.
"We have been clear with him," Marques had said. "He still needs to up his game a bit to convince us that he can match up to the demands of the PSL. He has been working hard and I think we just need to give him time and see how he goes."
Yesterday, the Birds coach was singing a different tune.
Schalkwyk, who has been without a club since turning out for Maritzburg United on a loan deal from Pirates two years ago, has gone awol.
"Eish! We don't know where Gert is. We don't know what's going on with him. He just stopped coming.
"He hasn't said anything and we haven't been able to reach him," said a disappointed Marques.
"You try to give players opportunities then they turn around and do this sort of thing. What can we do? Life just goes on. There are hundreds of other players who are looking for these kind of opportunities. We therefore can't sit around and worry about one player."
Schalkwyk is no stranger to controversy involving skipping training. In 2010, while still at Pirates, the midfielder shocked the club when he announced on social network Facebook that he was retiring from football and then disappeared from the club's training.
He returned to the club two weeks later after ironing out issues with chairman Irvin Khoza.
The player stated that he had been frustrated by a lack of game time at the club.
Meanwhile, former Lamontville Golden Arrows striker Nkosinathi Ogle is hoping to secure a deal at Swallows as he is now training with the Birds.