Schalke star Huntelaar left behind by team bus

Schalke 04's Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar capped a memorable weekend, which included a training ground bust-up and his 25th league goal of the season, by being stranded in Augsburg, it was reported on Tuesday.

Huntelaar was photographed fighting with team-mate Jermaine Jones in training on Saturday, and then scored as the Royal Blues drew 1-1 at Augsburg on Sunday only to be forgotten by his team-mates, according to German daily Bild.

The 28-year-old netted in the first-half in Bavaria to make him the Bundesliga's top scorer alongside Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez.

But after answering a barrage of questions from waiting journalists, Huntelaar discovered the Schalke team bus had left without him en route to Munich airport, from where the squad were due to fly back to Gelsenkirchen.

Local police helped him link up with the team bus so he could catch the flight home, but he is not the first Bundesliga star to be left behind in Bavaria.

Last month, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan suffered a similar fate after scoring the winning goal in extra time in the German Cup semi-final at Greuther Fuerth.

"Someone counted double," admitted Schalke goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall before captain Benedikt Hoewedes finally noticed Huntelaar was missing.

"On a day like that, it can happen," said Schalke's general manager Horst Heldt.

"It also happened to the champions," he added in reference to Guendogan with Schalke currently lying third in the Bundesliga table behind champions Dortmund and Bayern Munich.