Kruse won't play for Wolfsburg as Kovac questioned his dedication

has played his last game for

after coach Niko Kovac questioned the former Germany striker's commitment. Kovac and the team's sports director, Marcel Schafer, said on Saturday that 34-year-old Kruse had no chance of returning to the Bundesliga team.

Maxence Lacroix's header at the hour mark gave Wolfsburg a 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.

won the Europa League last season.

It was the first victory of the Bundesliga campaign at the sixth attempt. Former Werder Bremen and Borussia Monchengladbach forward Kruse was left out a week after playing the full game in the 4-2 home defeat to Koln.

"We demand 100 percent identification, concentration, and focus on Wolfsburg from all players. We didn't have that feeling with Max. That's why he's not there," Kovac told German broadcaster

Sky Sport

.

Kovac, the former Bayern Munich and Monaco head coach, added: "We didn't see any impetus from Max that he could help the team. The club is more important than everything else, so we made the decision together. We informed him that he would not play a role for us in the future. No more games."

Schafer added: "He will never play for VfL Wolfsburg again." Kruse signed an 18-month deal when he joined Wolfsburg in January, meaning he faces playing no games until next season unless he finds a new club in January.

He won 14 caps for Germany from 2013 to 2015 before falling out of favor, while he also played three games for the German Olympic team in Tokyo 2020. Earlier this season, Kruse had questioned his level of involvement at Wolfsburg, with his first three appearances coming off the bench.

He then started against

RB Leipzig

and Koln, but in 270 minutes of action in the 2022-23 Bundesliga, he failed to register a goal or an assist and managed only two shots on target before Wolfsburg pulled the plug on his season.

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