Last Updated: Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:18
Hibs boss John Hughes has given defender Sol Bamba a week off to try and recover from Ivory Coast's African Cup of Nations campaign.
The 25-year-old played in all of the Elephants' matches in Angola and was bitterly disappointed by their shock failure to beat Algeria in the quarter-finals.
Bamba did turn out almost immediately on his return, scoring an own goal in the 2-1 win over St Mirren last Saturday, and Hughes has decided to give him some extra time off.
Hughes said: "I spoke to Sol before the Saints match and you could sense the disappointment.
"He talked about the squad being good enough to have won it and touched upon their chances in the World Cup this summer.
"I asked him if he could play for us. There was a bit of trepidation because he'd just come back. He told me he was mentally fatigued but he wanted to play.
"It was a bit of a gamble but we got away with it. He was always going back to Paris for three days but we've told him to have the week, to rest up and enjoy his time with his family."
Bamba will miss Saturday's fifth-round Scottish Cup tie against Montrose but that means an immediate return to the side for Paul Hanlon, who had impressed in both wins over Hamilton and Celtic.