Kurt Zouma was ruled out of West Ham United's clash vs Leicester City at the last minute after suffering an injury in the warm-up.
Irons manager David Moyes kept faith with the French defender again for the fixture at the King Power Stadium despite the ongoing backlash over footage of Zouma abusing his pet cats.
Zouma was selected to start the Premier League showdown but Moyes was forced into a late change prior to kick-off when his centre-back hobbled off towards the dressing room.
He had stopped his warm-up and consulted with West Ham backroom staff before walking away from the rest of his team.
Zouma was then replaced before the game kicked off, with Issa Diop replacing his teammate, who is reported to have been feeling unwell earlier in the day and struggling with vision problems.
Moyes has been staunch in his decision to keep the 27-year-old involved, despite the Irons fining him a club-maximum £250,000.
Following the 1-0 win against Watford which Zouma controversially started in, the West Ham boss said: "I'm really disappointed, and the club have taken all the action they can do at the moment behind the scenes.
"My job is to pick the best team and Kurt was part of that. I'm a big animal lover and it’s something that will have affected a lot of people.
"I was completely disappointed with what I saw and what I was told, but my job was to try and find a way to get a win for West Ham. Some people will be disappointed and I understand that.
"I'm someone who cares a lot about my dogs and my horses. The club are dealing with it as you well know.
"I've already spoken to him and we'll move on as much as we can. We understand it's not something everybody is pleased about. It's a really poor situation.
"Was it the wrong call? My feeling was Kurt's apologised. I understand lots of people won't just accept that. But I had to do my job then, and that was to pick the best team I could.
"He's obviously really disappointed and we've all felt it through the team and through the club. We are all of the same feeling it was completely out of order from Kurt and we didn't expect that.
"I always felt I had to try and separate them and let the club do their side and I’ll do my side which is the football side. I think you are talking to one of the most disciplinary managers there is.
"It's something which we are all really disappointed with and the club are dealing with it. Kurt is in our first XI so my decision was to play him."
