EMILIO IZAGUIRRE is set to be placed at the centre of a club v country battle which could rule the Celtic star out of the first two rounds of next season's Champions League qualifiers.

Honduras are scheduled to compete in the biennial Concacaf Gold Cup, which will be staged in the United States from July 7.

The group stages – in which Izzy's country line up against Haiti, El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago – run through to July 15.

The competition then moves into a knockout phase on July 20 and 21, before the final on July 28.

Celtic enter the qualification process for the Champions League at the second round stage, with their opening tie due on July 16 or 17, and the second leg coming a week later.

The third qualifying round takes place on July 30 and 31, again with the second leg the following week.

But even if Izaguirre has been released from international duty by then, he will require at least three weeks to recover from a season which kicked off on August 1 last year.

Acutely worried about how difficult it is going to be to provide a close-season even for players who are not called up for international duty, Neil Lennon has previously spoken of giving some of the men most in need some time off before this season ends.

But with Honduras playing three World Cup qualifiers between June 11 and 18 – against Costa Rica, Jamaica and the USA – even if Celtic give Izzy early leave of absence, the full-back will find it very difficult to find the opportunity to take a complete break from the game.

Lennon is already concerned about the toll these commitments are taking on Izaguirre, who has travelled across the Atlantic for Friday's game against Mexico and the match in Panama a week tonight.

But it is unlikely the Honduran FA will offer a sympathetic ear.

They made a complaint to Fifa in 2011 when the player failed to report for a friendly against Ecaudor after Celtic informed them he had picked up an injury.

Lennon has already accepted that he will have to go into the opening qualifiers without Efe Ambrose.

His country, Nigeria, are competing in the Confederations Cup in Brazil until June 28.

And the Hoops boss understands that, following this dress-rehearsal for next summer's World Cup finals, the centre-back will need to be given time off to recover from a long season that included the African Cup of Nations.

Meanwhile, Tony Watt has pulled out of the Scotland Under-21 squad to face Luxembourg next Monday in Paisley.