Cardiff City manager Erol Bulut has verified that the club declined to release Jamilu Collins for the Super Eagles of Nigeria's October international friendlies in Portugal due to concerns about the player's potential injury.

Earlier this month, despite indications that Cardiff City might not release Collins, Jose Peseiro chose to invite him for the international friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique.

Collins was supposed to join his national teammates in Portugal this week for the friendly against Saudi Arabia on October 13 and the game against Mozambique three days later.

However, the 29-year-old left-back was held back by his club, prompting Peseiro to replace him with Chidozie Awaziem, as officially announced on the Super Eagles' X page.

It's worth noting that Jamilu Collins missed 45 games for Cardiff in 2022 due to a cruciate ligament injury suffered against West Brom. This injury led to a nine-month absence from training before his return to the club in June. Despite making a successful comeback, he has been crucial to the team.

In the current season, the defender has participated in nine EFL Championship matches and contributed one assist. Due to his significance to Cardiff, the Championship side is unwilling to take any risks with his fitness.

The Cardiff City coach expressed, "Maybe I have to talk with the national team manager because he [Collins] will get injured. Neither side wants that. The club doesn’t need it, the national team doesn’t need it, we have to protect him."