Celtic and Rangers could lose a host of first-team players to international duty with the Asian Cup and African Cup of Nations scheduled to kick-off in January next year.
The Hoops are set to be affected most, with as many as EIGHT stars under consideration for a call-up by their respective national teams, while the Gers are sweating over the availability of three players.
The Asian Cup tournament, involving Japan and South Korea, begins in Qatar on Friday, 12th January and runs until Saturday, 10th February. It means Brendan Rodgers will have to plan for life without the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Oh Hyeon-gyu for a period of time.
To make matters worse for Rodgers, it has been reported by Sponichi that Japan are also planning for an Asian Cup warm-up match to be played on New Year's Day - just 48 hours after Celtic face their arch rivals in the Scottish Premiership.
Meanwhile, the re-scheduled AFCON tournament was supposed to be held in the summer but was moved to early next year due to adverse weather conditions in the Ivory Coast. Rangers currently have a trio of players who could be involved, meaning Philippe Clement could be without some key options for domestic action.
GlasgowWorld has compiled a list of 11 players that could be unavailable to Celtic and Rangers for a matter of weeks. We rate how likely they are to be called up by their respective nations:
5. Cyriel Dessers - Nigeria
Possibly - The frontman has recently spoken of his desire to return to the Super Eagles squad. Made his international debut back in 2020 but has only featured three times since. Was last named in the squad in November 2022 and will be aiming to find the net more frequently. | SNS Group
6. Yuki Kobayashi - Japan
No chance - The centre-back's lack of game time this season will ensure he remains available for Celtic. | SNS Group
7. Tomoki Iwata - Japan
Possibly - Seemingly out of favour under Brendan Rodgers but the defensive midfielder brings good versatility to the table and could be on the fringes of earning a call-up. But hasn't been near the senior squad since last summer. | SNS Group
8. Kwon Hyeok-kyu - South Korea
Unlikely - What a strange signing he has turned out to be. Not seen since making his only appearance during James Forrest' testimonial match against Athletic Bilbao, the defensive midfielder has already been written off by the vast majority of fans. Photo: Craig Foy - SNS Group