Portsmouth summer signing reportedly rejects international call-up for Nations League duty
The Estonia international has featured in all seven of the Blues’ matches this season, starting six of them
Rocco Shein has asked not to be considered for Estonia during the international break, according to reports.
The Pompey midfielder was expected to be in coach Jurgen Henn’s 26-man squad for forthcoming Nations League fixtures.
Estonia are scheduled to face Iceland (A), Bulgaria, Luxembourg and Iceland (H) once more during the upcoming four games.
However, they will do so without Tallinn-born Shein, who has reportedly decided against adding to his 25 caps over that period and will remain on the south coast with the Blues.
‘Asked not to join the national team for the upcoming matches’
According to Baltic Football News, the 23-year-old ‘has asked not to join the national team for the upcoming matches’.
It raises the likelihood that he could instead be focusing on his Pompey career, following a mixed start to life in the Championship after his £2m summer move from Fredrikstad.
Following an impressive debut against West Ham in the Carabao Cup, Shein has featured in all seven of the Blues’ opening matches, starting six of them, including Saturday’s goalless draw at Charlton.
However, he has been substituted in each of his last four starts, usually around the hour mark, as he settles into English football.
Following Saturday’s clash with Blackburn at Fratton Park, John Mousinho’s men are without a match for just over three weeks, with the Premier League and Championship shutting down for international football.
They return to action on October 11, with a trip to Southampton for the south-coast derby, with the focus shifting to the training ground in the meantime.
Call-ups for Terry Devlin and Adrian Segecic
However, unlike Shein, Terry Devlin and Adrian Segecic definitely won’t be around at Pompey’s Copnor Road training base during that time.
Devlin is among a 28-strong squad for Northern Ireland, who have four games in 11 days in the Nations League. From September 25 until October 5, they will face Georgia (A), Hungary (H), Ukraine (A) and Georgia (H) in Group F.
Meanwhile, Adrian Segecic has missed out on Croatia duty - but will instead continue to represent the Under-21s.
WIth two goals from seven Pompey matches so far this season, the attacker would have hoped to have forced his way into the senior side, managed by the returning Slaven Bilic.
However, he remains with the Under-21s, having been named in Ivica Olic’s 26-man squad for their forthcoming European Championship qualifiers against Hungary, Ukraine and Lithuania.