West Bromwich Albion could be without Peter Odemwingie for up to five weeks of Premier League action - after the Nigeria striker reaffirmed his commitment to the national side, reports the Birmingham Mail. The African Nations Cup tournament is held in South Africa between January 19 and February 10.
Should Odemwingie be selected and if Nigeria reach the semi-finals (the losers would still be required to contest a third-place play-off), Odemwingie would effectively miss five Premier League fixtures.
The 31 year old told KickOffNigeria.com: "If the coach decides to call me, I am still available to play for my country. When I decide that I want to stop playing, I will come out and say so myself.
"I spoke with Keshi and I told him about my unhappiness with certain things in the national team, including the fact that as a player who has served his country with full commitment for over 10 years, I got into trouble for asking to be excused from a friendly game when I had an injury.
"And I pointed out to him that it appeared the same trend was continuing under him during the game in Rwanda because of the way I was treated.
"So since I didn't want to be seen to be destabilising the national team, I decided to stay away.
"But he explained to me that the entire team played badly and if he had his way, he would have subbed out everyone. That it was nothing personal.
"We agreed that it was a communication issue and we would continue to talk, and that was it.
"I did not say I won't play for the national team. I am 31 now, it will be hard to play every game, but I had an open and honest discussion with the coach and I will be available when they call."
