Jordi Osei-Tutu rejoined the VfL Bochum squad for the first time in almost two months on Monday, making the bench against VfB Stuttgart.

VfB Stuttgart v VfL Bochum 1848 Second Bundesliga 1572952490
STUTTGART, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 02: Jordi Osei-Tutu of Bochum jumps for a header with Atakan Karazor of VfB Stuttgart and Holger Badstuber of VfB Stuttgart during the Second Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and VfL Bochum 1848 at Mercedes-Benz Arena on September 02, 2019, in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Bongarts/Getty Images)

The Osei-Tutu loan situation is a bit of a strange one. He got inconsistent game time in the first half of the season, but Arsenal didn’t recall him in January. Instead, they left him with Bochum, where he hadn’t made a matchday squad since December 22nd.

There’s no information available as to why. Various German outlets reported on Osei-Tutu’s absence, but without giving a reason. From what we can gather, it was just a tactical decision to leave him out.

In that situation, you’d usually expect the parent club to recall and re-loan in January. Arsenal didn’t. Perhaps they never put a recall clause in the contract, or they’re hoping things will change in the second half of the campaign.

Fortunately, Osei-Tutu is now back in the squad again, making the Bochum bench against Stuttgart. He didn’t make it onto the pitch, but it’s a start. At least now we know for sure he’s fit enough, we’ll see if he gets games in the coming weeks.