Midfielder Adlene Guedioura will miss a chunk of Nottingham Forest’s pre-season as Martin O’Neill’s men prepare for a renewed assault on the Championship.
The 33-year-old has been called up to the Algeria squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, which takes place in June and July.
Head coach Djamel Belmadi has today named his 23-man team for the tournament, with Guedioura included.
There is no place though, for countryman and Reds teammate Hillal Soudani, who has been sidelined with injury since October.
This year’s Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Egypt and runs from June 21 to July 19, crossing over with the Reds’ preparations for the new campaign – with the club’s first pre-season friendly scheduled for July 13, against Atromitos.
Algeria boss Belmadi plans to get his players together on June 3 before the competition begins, with the squad flying to Doha on June 8.
They will then face Burundi and Mali in friendlies, on June 11 and June 16 respectively, and will head to Cairo two days later.
Guedioura and his teammates’ first Group C game in the tournament will be against Kenya on June 23, followed by Senegal on June 27 and Tanzania on July 1.
Forest defender Tendayi Darikwa will also be involved in the Africa Cup of Nations, with Zimbabwe.
