WANDERERS are expecting to lose the services of Chung-Yong Lee for virtually the whole of January when he links-up with the South Korea squad for the Asia Cup.

The tournament, held in Australia, kicks-off on January 9 and runs until the end of the month.

Korea’s German coach Ulrich Stielike will announce his squad in or around December 22 and will hold a training camp for Asian-based players before bringing the European-based stars in a week later to prepare for the opening game against Oman in Canberra.

As one of the favourites to lift the trophy, Korea are likely to progress to the later stages, which means the 26-year-old stands to miss the FA Cup third round tie plus games against Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday as a bare minimum.

Should the Taeguk Warriors reach the latter rounds of the competition, as expected, he could also be unavailable to face Rotherham United and Wolves.

Chung-Yong has been a revelation in recent weeks and his absence will come as a blow to Neil Lennon, who has managed to bring the midfielder back to top form since his arrival.

The Whites boss is yet to make a decision on whether to sign up free agent Eidur Gudjohnsen – but may well see the Icelander as a viable option in the free role behind the main striker, where Chung-Yong has thrived.

The absence of Mark Davies is another telling blow, leaving Lennon’s squad potentially short in the creativity stakes going into the New Year.

The Northern Irishman has already hinted at concern over Chung-Yong’s busy international schedule and also hit out at the treatment of Tim Ream last week when he was rushed into a squad by US boss Jurgen Klinsmann and used for just a three-minute cameo against Ireland.

It remains to be seen how long Lennon will look to hold on to Chung-Yong, or whether he will release him for international duty after the December 28 trip to Huddersfield Town.

But it does pose a problem for the manager as he plots a path into the second half of the season, where he still holds out hope of challenging at the right end of the table.

South Korea won the first two Asian Cups in 1956 and 1960 but have failed in their last 13 attempts.

For three of the previous four tournaments they have finished in third place, including in 2011 when Chung-Yong featured in six games in Qatar.

Back then Owen Coyle was forced to release the play-maker after a Boxing Day victory over West Brom and he did not feature again until a 1-0 win over Wolves on February 2.

It is not the first time Wanderers have faced issues at the start of a calendar year with a tournament which does not fit in with the European calendar.

The African Cup of Nations have deprived the Whites of players on several occasions, including Mark Fish for South Africa in 1998, Abdoulaye Meite for Ivory Coast in 2008, El-Hadji Diouf for Senegal in 2006 and 2008 and Radhi Jaidi for Tunisia in 2006.

Ali Al-Habsi, who will be in action for Oman against Korea this January, also represented his country at the 2007 Asian Cup whilst wearing Wanderers colours.