Celtic have blocked a move by Nigeria to take defender Efe Ambrose to the Rio Olympics in Brazil.
New manager Brendan Rodgers is wrestling with injury problems in central defence, with Croatian Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata likely to miss the start of the Scottish Premiership season, MailOnline Football reports.
Nigeria's Under 23 boss Samson Siasia wanted to decimate the Parkhead manager’s backline further by whipping Ambrose off to an American training camp during Champions League qualifiers as one of his three over-age players.
With no FIFA regulations forcing clubs to release players for the Rio games, however, Celtic have told the 27-year-old he is needed at home for the opening weeks of the new campaign. Ambrose flew to Slovenia with the squad on Monday for a 10-day pre-season camp.
The defender's long-term Parkhead future is less clear. Rodgers is already assessing defensive reinforcements, with Liverpool's Andre Wisdom and veteran defender Kolo Toure linked.
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