Reiss Nelson returned to the Hoffenheim team on Saturday, after he was excluded from their previous game for disciplinary reasons.

SINSHEIM, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 27: Reiss Nelson of 1899 Hoffenheim reacts after the UEFA Champions League Group F match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena on November 27, 2018 in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images,)
SINSHEIM, GERMANY – NOVEMBER 27: Reiss Nelson of 1899 Hoffenheim reacts after the UEFA Champions League Group F match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and FC Shakhtar Donetsk at Wirsol Rhein-Neckar-Arena on November 27, 2018, in Sinsheim, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Bongarts/Getty Images)

For anyone who missed the story last week, Nelson was completely absent from Hoffenheim’s squad to face Nurnberg last Sunday. Whilst there were initially fears from Arsenal supporters that he might be injured, Julian Nagelsmann confirmed after the match that the exclusion was an ‘educational measure’.

Various media outlets then reported that Nelson was being left out for ‘disciplinary reasons’, with no suggestion of when he might return to the squad.

It seems the problem has been resolved though, with the 19-year-old featuring against Stuttgart on Saturday. The Arsenal loanee came on for the final five minutes of the 1-1 draw, but he couldn’t quite help his team find the winner.

With just a couple of months left of the season, Nelson still has more goals (six) than starts (five) for Hoffenheim. After his electric start to the season, the teenager has had to learn some harsh lessons about senior football, notably how to deal with the frustration of being benched most weeks.

Hopefully, he’ll carry forward all the positives from his time away and use the negatives to improve and become a better player.