ANKARA

Edin Visca will no longer play for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national side, the team’s manager announced on Friday.

“Visca informed me a few days ago that he wanted to say goodbye to the national team and that he couldn’t be 100% ready for the A team at this moment,” Ivaylo Petev said at a news conference in Sarajevo while announcing his squad for upcoming friendlies against Montenegro and Denmark.

The 31-year-old winger plays club football in Turkey for Medipol Basaksehir.

He was a key man for Bosnia and Herzegovina over the course of his international career, scoring 10 goals in 55 appearances since his debut in 2010.

“I am sincerely sorry for that, because we thought he could be one of our key players in the [2022 FIFA World Cup] qualifiers,” Petev said.

“However, we had no choice but to accept his decision. If one day he changes his mind and wants to help his colleagues and his country, we can talk.”

A Basaksehir regular since joining from Bosnian side Zeljeznicar Sarajevo in 2011, Visca was pivotal in the club’s first Turkish Super Lig title win in 2020.

He has racked up 106 goals and 109 assists in 379 appearances for the Istanbul club in 10 years.