Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has temporarily retired from the Ivory Coast national team, according to reports in the English media.
The forward has withdrawn from the Elephants squad to play Rwanda in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.
There had been rumours that Drogba was comtemplating quitting the Elephants after he was severely criticized following their unimpressive showing at the World Cup in June.
Despite the rumours new Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui named the captain for the Group H game to be played in Abidjan.
But the Chelsea ace rejected the call when he met Zahoui in London insisting he wants to concentrate on his club career.
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| "I truly met Drogba in London. He told me he was so tired and that he wanted to withdraw from the national team for a while," Zahoui was reported to have said. |
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"Drogba is a world class player who is indispensable for the Elephants, but I had to respect his decision.
"We will let him rest and recover his mental and physical strength and pray he comes back some day to the national team," Zahoui said.
Drogba becomes the second Chelsea player to make such pronouncement on his international career after Ghana midfielder Michael Essien.
The Ivory Coast is playing in qualifying group H with Rwanda, Benin, and Burundi.
In the absence of Drogba, Manchester City's Kolo Toure is expected to lead the squad with players like Emmanuel Eboue and Drogba's Chelsea teammate, Salomon Kalou serving as the key players.
Revised Ivory Coast squad:
Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren, Belgium), Daniel Yeboah (ASEC Abidjan)
Defenders: Souleymane Bamba (Hibernian, Scotland), Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Guy Demel (Hamburg SV, Germany), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, England), Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic, England), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes, France), Kolo Toure (Manchester City, England), Didier Zokora (Sevilla, Spain)
Midfielders: Kafoumba Coulibaly, Emerse Fae (both Nice, France), Emmanuel Kone (Cluj, Romania), Christian Koffi Ndri (Sevilla, Spain), Cheik Ismael Tiote (Newcastle United, England), Yaya Toure (Manchester City, England)
Forwards: Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Gervais Yao Kouassi (Lille, France), Yannick Sagbo (Monaco, France). |
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