St Johnstone boss, Simo Valakari, has revealed that Victor Griffith declined a Panama call-up so he could get himself in the best possible condition for his club’s Premiership survival battle and Scottish Cup semi-final.
One of the big reasons the midfielder joined Saints in January was to get back in the national team, having been unable to add to his tally of 10 caps over the last couple of years.
Panama face the USA in a Nations League semi-final on Thursday night – and their head coach, Thomas Christiansen, wanted to include Griffith in his squad.
But the 24-year-old, who only made his comeback from an ankle injury as a second half substitute against Aberdeen on Saturday, felt that this was a time when he should prioritise St Johnstone.
“Makenzie (Kirk), Aaron (Essel), Daniels (Balodis) and Dukes (Stephen Duke-McKenna) are all away with their countries,” said Valakari.
“It is great for them and for the club.
“Hopefully they all play.
“Victor chose not to go with Panama.
“He thought it was best to stay here and keep rehabbing his ankle.
“Victor hasn’t been in the Panama squad for a while so that must have been a hard decision in some ways.
“I’m happy for him that they wanted to pick him.
“He said to me: ‘It’s my dream to play for my country but at this moment I need to get myself in better shape’.
“I was like ‘wow’.
The Daniels Balodis example
“Nobody knows better than me how much of an honour it is to play for your country, but Victor has put the club first, which is how it should be.
“You do well for us, other things happen on the back of that.
“Victor will see that. It has happened for Daniels (picked by Latvia for their World Cup qualifiers).”
Valakari added: “Victor knew there would be a lot of travelling, there’s the time difference, training would be geared towards the match, and he might not have played.
“Instead, he has stayed here. He’ll rehab, get the ankle stronger and play a couple of bounce games.
“That will make him more ready for Hibs.
“It is a good decision – and he made it for himself.
“There will be future call-ups after he has played well for us.”
Griffith was sidelined for a month after picking up his ankle injury at Kilmarnock.
Impressive comeback
Valakari sent him on for Adama Sidibeh just before the hour mark at the weekend and liked what he saw.
“He looked good when he came on against Aberdeen,” said the Finn.
“Not all players can get to the pace of the game as quickly after a few weeks out.
“We saw what we have been missing.
“When Victor arrived, you could see he was in good shape and ready to play.
“Now we have to get him to that position again. This international break will help.”
Saints played a bounce game against Hearts on Tuesday and will face Queen’s Park next week in preparation for the resumption of the league campaign at Easter Road.
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