Novosibirsk's Lokomotiv has parted ways with outside hitter Yoandy Leal, according to gazzeta.ru.
The 36-year-old Cuban with a Brazilian passport joined the team before the start of the current season. He was recovering from a shoulder injury for a long time, and then did not show the level of play expected of him. In early December, the head coach of the Siberian team Plamen Konstantinov publicly stated that the foreigner was not meeting expectations.
"I still haven't seen the real Leal. We solved the shoulder problem. The issue is no longer the shoulder, but the training process. And his optimal playing form, which we still haven't seen. He is far from what is needed. We took Leal as a power outside hitter for the elements that bring points. To perform in attack, on serve, on block. But so far we don't see that. And will we see it?" - said the specialist in an interview for "BO Sport".
According to the Russian media, the 36-year-old volleyball player was given time to prove himself until the end of December, after which his contract was terminated.
Leal participated in 16 matches of the Russian championship, in which he recorded 75 points. He has 46% attack efficiency (59/128) and 36% positive reception. He also made 35 errors.
Marko Ivović, Omar Kurbanov, and Alexander Kostadinov remain in Lokomotiv's outside hitter line-up.
The Novosibirsk team occupies 5th place in the standings, with 13 wins from 17 matches.
photo:lokovolley.com