Gabriel Agbonlahor has been omitted from Aston Villa’s squad for this weekend’s clash with Chelsea pending an internal investigation into the striker’s conduct whilst on a recent holiday.

The former England international was reportedly spotted smoking a shisha pipe while vacationing in Dubai, with pictures emerging in certain sections of the British media this week.

Villa have now responded to the allegations by launching an internal investigation into the frontman’s conduct, while the 29-year-old has also been omitted from the club’s match-day squad for Saturday’s visit of Chelsea.

As club statement read: “Gabby Agbonlahor will not be involved in Saturday’s early afternoon clash with Chelsea. An internal investigation is currently underway. While this is being conducted, Gabby Agbonlahor will not feature.”

The striker’s conduct caps what has been a troublesome few days for Villa, after boss Remi Garde was sacked earlier this week with the club firmly rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, 12 points adrift of safety, with just seven matches of the campaign left to play.

First-team coach Eric Black has been placed in temporary charge of the club for the visit of the Blues on Saturday, but he insists he is fully focused on securing a victory in the match and is not thinking about the off-the-field antics of Agbonlahor.

Black said: “Unfortunately, it’s [Agbonlahor’s conduct] part and parcel of modern day football. It’s not specific to Aston Villa and we will deal with it in the right manner. I’m focussed on our next challenge, which is Chelsea.”

Aston Villa are available at 6.00 to secure a rare three points on Saturday, while Chelsea are on offer at 1.57 and the draw is priced at 4.00.