Olympic call rules out Ji

Ji Dong-Won will miss Sunderland's pre-season trip to his homeland after being called up to South Korea's London Olympics squad.

The 21-year-old was handed a place in coach Hong Myung-Bo's 23-man squad for the Olympic men's football tournament, which runs from July 26 until August 11. As a result he will not travel with Martin O'Neill's Black Cats' squad to take part in the four-team Peace Cup in South Korea next month because he will be participating in warm-up friendly games against New Zealand in Seoul on July 14 and then Senegal in England on July 20. The news will be a blow for Sunderland who were hoping to use the presence of Ji to attract fans and possible sponsorship deals in Asia on their trip. The Black Cats will face K-League side Seongnam and either German side Hamburg or Dutch outfit Groningen, who meet in the other semi-final.