KI SUNG-YUENG may have avoided two years of national service for South Korea by leading his country to an Olympic football bronze medal but there is no escaping Neil Lennon's call of duty.
The Celtic midfielder will rejoin his club colleagues tomorrow for the flight to Sweden after agreeing to curtail his rest period after a summer focused on London 2012. Lennon is likely to put Ki straight into the team for Tuesday's Champions League play-off first leg with Helsingborgs despite the 22-year-old's hectic schedule.
Fittingly, for a man whose winning penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out eliminated Team GB, Ki will be playing at Helsingborgs' Olympia stadium. "Ki was made aware that we needed him," said Lennon, who will be without the suspended Victor Wanyama in Sweden after his dismissal against HJK Helsinki in Finland in the last round.
"We are hoping we can get Ki in over the weekend and see how he is but he will go straight into the squad. He should be in decent nick. He has had a demanding month so we gave him 10 days to rest but we are thin on the ground for players after recent injuries.
"Scandinavian sides have given us trouble before and I am not treating this one lightly. People's expectations have risen since we beat HJK. Helsingborgs are a step up from HJK. It is winnable but have to approach it with caution.
"I played 10 years ago at Helsingborgs in a pre-season friendly and we got beaten. It is a tight ground holding 16,000 and will be intimidating. It is a huge game and there is so much at stake for us. I was delighted with the performances against HJK and if we can match that, then I think it will take a good team to beat us. I want my players to enhance their reputations and to do that, it is important that they play in the Champions League."
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho offered Celtic a boost when the sides met in Philadelphia last weekend. "He just wished good luck and said you've got a chance of getting through," Lennon said.
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