Nigeria international John Obi Mikel was absent from Tianjin Teda match day squad in a Chinese Super League clash against Shanghai Shenhua at the Hongkou Stadium (Shanghai) on Wednesday afternoon.
It would have been Mikel's 12th consecutive start in the Chinese topflight since the start of this season if he had featured.
Manager of Tianjin Teda, Uli Stielike, had made it crystal clear at the pre-match press conference he won't be able to count on the services of Mikel as the defensive midfielder was serving a mandatory one-match suspension.
The German also stated that the iconic Super Eagles captain won't be missed because he took time to recover after representing Nigeria at the recently concluded World Cup.
Mikel received his first yellow card of the season against TJ Quanjian on match day three, his second against Shanghai SIPG, then was booked again against BJ Renhe before his last caution against Shandong Luneng on May 18, just before he joined the Super Eagles at their training camp in Uyo.
The 31-year-old is free to play again for Tianjin Teda when they face Chongqing Dangdai Lifan FC on Saturday, July 21.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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