Sakhi, who arrived from the Ligue 2 club in August, has important family issues to attend to and is heading back to France to pursue his future elsewhere, leaving City coach Aurelio Vidmar with an urgent need to dip into the transfer market to fill the void.

Initially deployed as a number 10 by Rado Vidosic, Sakhi, 27, has thrived in a deep lying midfield role under successor Vidmar - starting all 13 of eighth-placed City’s A-League games this season.

His shock departure is a body blow for club and coach, with Sakhi among the most gifted players in the competition and just beginning to thrive in his adopted environment.

He scored once and provided an assist during his short stint, with the identity of his next career destination yet to be revealed.

However, it’s understood he will not be re-joining Auxerre - who were relegated from Ligue 1 last season - with Sakhi scoring once and providing two assists in his 27 top flight appearances.

He arrived down under off the back of a decade in France where he amassed 175 appearances, 20 goals and 24 assists in Ligue 2.

Last season saw the former Morocco youth international play in Ligue 1 for the first time.