Town boss Joe Royle has admitted that the club are in the dark regarding Shefki Kuqi's potential call-up to the Finnish army. TWTD first reported on Thursday that the naturalised Finn could face 180 days military service within the next two years.

Royle said: "I am completely unaware of this and I will have to speak to Shefki to see what he knows of the situation.

"My first thought is whether it might be possible to do it in two stages of three months over two summers."

As the rules stand, there is no provision for national service to be taken in this way. However, the Finnish football authorities are coming under pressure to try to negotiate some form of exemption for their players.

Kuqi is reported in the Finnish press to have said he is willing to serve his time in the army but preferably once his football career is over.

A change in the law in 2003 meant that naturalised Finns like Kuqi and his brother Njazi, both born in Kosovo, are subject to military call-ups in the same way as native-born Finns.

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