James Forrest will not be available for Team GB due to recovering from injury

Neil Lennon has been in touch with Team GB coach Stuart Pearce and told him that winger James Forrest will not be available for selection in the summer Olympics.  Forrest was on Pearce's shortened list of players but, missed the last two months of the season with a calf injury. This means he will not be fit enough to go to the Games. Forrest had previously said he would rather play for Celtic in the Champions League qualifiers, which clash with games scheduled for the Olympic tournament in late July and early August. Lennon said he did not expect to lose players for the tournament.
 
The Celtic manager said: "Certainly not the British players, we've spoken with Stuart on that. James Forrest will not be going because he's been injured. Stuart's aware of that. He was in his thoughts but the fact that he's been out for so long probably rules him out."
 
South Korea have plans to call up midfielder Ki Sung-yueng but the 23-year-old's birthday falls weeks outside the deadline that would make his attendance compulsory under FIFA rules. Lennon went on: "As regards the rest of the players, we'll speak to the other federations regarding that and hopefully there will be some sort of resolution where they are playing with Celtic when the time comes."
 
Another Scotland player who doesn't look minded to be involved in Team GB is Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan. He initially expressed an interest in playing in the tournament but his attitude has changed after being informed of the opposition of some Scotland fans to Team GB. The SFA, although powerless to prevent players from taking part, do not want players eligible to play for Scotland involved in case it risks the country's independence within FIFA. Bannan said: "When I was first approached about the Olympics I wasn't aware how people back home were reacting to it. I'm fiercely proud to be Scottish and want to play for Scotland. The last thing I want to happen is for the supporters to turn against me and for me to do something that would damage Scotland. I will now speak with the manager (Craig Levein) and then take things from there."