Ghana defender John Boye was left on the bench as FC Metz began their French Ligue 1 campaign with a 1-1 stalemate at Strasbourg on Sunday.
Strasbourg opened the scoring in the 21st minute but Metz fought back to equalize in the 47th minute and earn a draw.
Boye was benched for the match due to his little involvement in the club's pre-season. The 32-year-old was given an extended break after representing Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
John Boye played a key role as Metz secured promotion to the topflight and will be hoping to return to the starting line-up as soon as possible.