Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has told forward Maxi Lopez to lose weight, saying he is "carrying a washing machine on his shoulders."
Lopez, 32, has played only one full game this season -- a defeat at Atalanta -- and Mihajlovic did not hold back when he explained why he had left him out of the squad to face Empoli this weekend.
"I spoke to him the other day and told him that if a player is capable of doing what he can do carrying an extra seven kilos -- which is almost like carrying a washing machine on his shoulders -- then imagine what he could do if he got back into shape," the coach said at a news conference.
"I told him that he should be angry with himself and that he needs to lose weight otherwise he won't play.
"We've set him a diet, and he knows that he needs to lose a kilo each week. He's got to do it. We'll weigh him every week and see if he's reached the objectives."
Lopez is also likely to be left out of Torino's trip to Pescara on Wednesday and is doubtful for the subsequent home games against Roma and Fiorentina, even if Mihajlovic does not have many other options.
"[Andrea] Belotti got injured... and [Adem] Ljajic injured himself with some stupid movement, but I don't think these injuries can be put down to how hard we are working," the coach said.
"I've never had many muscular injuries in the teams I have coached because we take care of every fine detail and make the lads do things that cannot affect any physical problems that they might have."
