Now he’s been promoted to the group preparing for the World Cup qualifiers against the Georgians in Larnaca on Saturday and the trip to face Bulgaria in Sofia tomorrow week.

That means instead of just missing this weekend’s trip to the Highlands to face Ross County, Efrem will also be ruled out of the visit to Dunfermline a week tonight — fellow-loan star Andrew Shinnie also misses both games because he’ll be with the Scotland Under-21s.

While the call-ups are great news for the players, Dark Blues boss Jocky Scott admitted it was something he could do without.

“Geordie has phoned me to say that, because of a couple of injuries, he is now in the full squad and, obviously, we are very pleased for him,” explained Jocky.

“It is a good reflection on him and the performances he’s turned in for us since we got him from Rangers, but, to be honest, these internationals have become a nuisance!

“We were hoping he’d be back for Dunfermline, but now that’s not going to happen and we will just have to get on with things.”

Dundee should at least be boosted by the return of veteran midfielder Colin Cameron this weekend.

Out for the last three games because of a hamstring problem, the 36-year-old is expected to return to full training tomorrow and Jocky believes he can play a major role in the closing weeks of the campaign.

“He’s been doing a bit of running on his own and has been progressing well. If he comes through the next few days OK, with Efrem and Shinnie dropping out it will be a good time to get him back.

“With Colin’s experience and ability, he could be a big asset for us over the next few weeks.”

Training with the squad today was Jim Lauchlan, despite the 10 stitches he had to have inserted in the back of his head at Partick on Sunday.

Because these games are friendlies, though, Gomis will still have the option of waiting to see if a call comes from France — only competitive games tie players to one nation.

Now Under-21 defender Mihael Kovacevic is considering whether to stick with Switzerland or pledge his future to the land of his father, Croatia.

Berne-born Kovacevic already has a cap for the young Swiss, but, with Croatian football under Slaven Bilic on a high right now, may be tempted to switch allegiance.

Both countries want him and the 21-year-old is facing a tough decision.

“I’m not even sure if Mihael is going to travel this week, because he has to decide which country he wants to play for and it is something he’s been thinking over,” said Tangerines boss Craig Levein today.

With or without Kovacevic, it will be a depleted squad that Craig takes in training for the remainder of the week and into next.

Warren Feeney is away with Northern Ireland, and their weekend opponents Poland have Lukasz Zaluska in their squad.

At Under-21 level, Paul Caddis and David Goodwillie have teamed up with Scotland for the double header with Albania.

“It disrupts the work you can do as a group, but that’s just the way it is and having a few away on international duty is an indication the players are doing well,” added Craig.

Manager Derek McInnes was pleased with the way his side performed and felt the game showed youngsters Ryan Sullivan, Johnny Lindsay, Mark Durnan, Stephen Reynolds and Stevie Mae are progressing.