Wolfsburg end ´sad´ Hleb loan

Wolfsburg will not exercise their option to sign Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb on a permanent basis before his loan deal expires.

Hleb, 30, joined Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on a six-month loan at the start of the season, and a long-term in the January transfer window was a possibility if all parties were satisfied.

However, the Belarus international has been struggling with injuries since his arrival at the Volkswagen Arena, making only four league appearances.

He will now return to parent club Barcelona when the loan deal ends on December 31.

“This is all very sad,” Wolfsburg coach Felix Magath told the club’s website.

“I would really have liked to keep him at Wolfsburg, but his ongoing injury problems simply don’t allow it.”

Hleb joined Barcelona from Arsenal in 2008 but has failed to make an impact on the first team at the Camp Nou, going out on loan to Stuttgart and Birmingham City before Wolfsburg.

His contract with the La Liga champions expires at the end of the season.