He was still in Ike’s dog house for his political and soldier-slapping blunders. So they used him as a decoy which apparently worked. But he’ll be back in the action soon enough.
The main consequence of the slapping incident was Ike concluded Patton was not suited for the high command and would best be used as a field army commander. And he needed effective commanders, especially looking at the Italy experience. Hence, Bradley got the Army Group.