Celtic star Alistair Johnston has been left out of Canada's Gold Cup squad so he can fully recover from injury, his national boss revealed.
The Hoops right back recovered in time from an ankle injury to help Celtic to a treble by winning the Scottish Cup Final against Caley Thistle in what was Ange Postecoglou's last match as manager.
Johnston is a key member of the Canada squad and played this week as his country lost in their CONCACAF Nations League Final against the USA in Las Vegas.
He would have been an automatic pick for Canada's Gold Cup squad for matches against either Guyana or Guadeloupe in Toronto, before playing Guatemala and Cuba in Houston.
But boss John Herdman has revealed why he left Johnston out of his squad.
He said: "Some players need a break to recover from injury.
"Alistair Johnston was carrying an injury he picked up on club duty with Celtic.
"So we've got some young lads that we'll start looking at for this Gold Cup.
"I would have loved to have the same squad as for the Nations League, but it won't happen."
The squad includes released St Johnstone stalwart David Wotherspoon and Ross County midfielder Victor Loturi is in line to win his first cap for his country.
