Pompey striker Kanu could be missing for six weeks

The pair, along with Pompey team-mates Sulley Muntari of Ghana and Senegal's Papa Bouba Diop, could already be away for six weeks.

But Nigeria boss Berti Vogts wants them to attend a training camp, which means they could be away for two months.

"We will be protesting strongly," said Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie.

606: DEBATE Harry has stated in the News today that he is looking at bringing some short term loans in January to cover for ANC mikecloudpfc

"It is just ridiculous, we all know who the countries in the quarter-finals will be," Storrie told the Portsmouth Evening News.

"What do they need a 14-day warm-up for?

"We do not have to release them (early). There are Fifa rules which legislate for this, it is totally crazy."

With reserve defender Djimi Traore also likely to be called up by Mali, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp says he will have to find cover for his missing stars by signing players on loan during the January transfer window.

"We do need to try to find maybe another three or four players from somewhere if we can because we need to fill the squad up," Redknapp told the Times newspaper.

"We haven't got 19 or 20-year-olds here that I could bring in and we can't go with just 14 players. It's not going to work."

I'm struggling. Who's going to loan you anybody? Harry Redknapp

"We lose two midfield players, a wide player and a front man and they are all with teams that are not exactly weak teams in the African Nations and will go a long way."

But Redknapp accepts that he will have to look beyond the Premier League to fill the gaps left by the African stars.

"I'm looking anywhere, if I could find someone in the lower divisions who would come and do a job, there's nothing I'd like better," he said.

"When I was at West Ham, I took people like Matty Holmes from Bournemouth and I'm looking round to see if there's someone down there.

"If there were lads in the lower divisions, I'd love to give one or two the opportunity to come here and be in the squad, but it's not easy to find them any more to make that step up.

"I'm struggling. Who's going to loan you anybody?"