Dwight Yorke today announced his retirement from international football - heading off a potential club v country row later this month.
The midfielder has decided to quit playing for Trinidad and Tobago and focus all his attention on Sunderland's Championship promotion campaign.
Yorke was named in the T&T squad for a friendly against Chile in Santiago later this month but, despite the game taking place on an international weekend when Sunderland had no fixture, boss Roy Keane was unhappy that the 35-year-old would have had to make a 15,000-mile round trip at such a vital stage of the season.
But Yorke's international retirement means that conflict has now been avoided.
Yorke, who skippered his country, said: "It's been a great personal and professional honour to play and captain Trinidad and Tobago over the years and I hope that I have contributed to the success of the team over that time.
"I believe the time is now right for me to concentrate on my career at Sunderland and, hopefully, win promotion to the Premiership.
"I would like to thank all my fellow team-mates from Trinidad and Tobago who have given me such support and our fantastic fans who are unique in the world."
Former Manchester United man Yorke retired from international football back in 2001, but later returned to the fold to play in the qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup.
Yorke won 59 official caps for T&T, scoring 26 goals, but also played in more than 100 matches for his country that were not recognised as international friendlies.