Aston Villa have axed Gabriel Agbonlahor from the first team and put him on a fitness drive.
Caretaker boss Eric Black made the call in a meeting with the striker on Monday after deeming the club captain was out of condition.
Agbonlahor will not feature for Villa, who could be relegated from the Barclays Premier League on Saturday, for two weeks during his personal boot camp.
The forward will train partly with the under-21s, with the first team and individually to prove his fitness.
It is the latest embarrassment for Agbonlahor, the club's record Premier League scorer, after he was dropped from the squad to play Chelsea this month and investigated by the club for his conduct on a trip to Dubai in March, before they opted to take no further action.
Black said: "After last week I sat down with Gabby on Monday and we agreed to put in place a fitness regime to get him up to speed. I can only control the elements I can control. I have to try to get the best out of the squad I have got and we agreed he wasn't in a condition to be involved.
"I can only assess people in training and in matches, I can only control those elements.
Team news: Gabby Agbonlahor out for two weeks as he undergoes a personal fitness programme. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/dLSos3tWbC
- Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) April 14, 2016
"I can't do the running, that'll be up to Gabby, it's his responsibility. In the last 10 days I have identified various things and that's one of them. When I'm in this position I'm going to treat it the way I want to, if they don't want to train properly, be part of the group or be ready to perform that's the only sanction I've got.
"We've come to the conclusion we need to move forward with it and he's not at the level to contribute the way he should."
Agbonlahor was also ruled out of last week's 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth after calling in sick with a virus 24 hours before the game.
Rock bottom Villa go to Manchester United 15 points from safety with just five games left and will be down before they kick off if Norwich avoid defeat at home to Sunderland in the early game.
The club have lost their last eight games and have won just three times in the league all season.
Black added: "The preparation won't change. Our preparation is to beat Manchester United. This has been a slow thing. This won't be a fall off the cliff 'oh my, Aston Villa have been relegated' moment, this has been happening for some time."
Jack Grealish (ankle) is a doubt after suffering an injury in the under-21 game on Monday while Jordan Amavi (knee) is out but Alan Hutton is available after suspension.