The confusion surrounding Kostas Mitroglou is set to deepen tomorrow with Fulham’s record signing expected to play for Greece – despite being left out of Felix Magath’s squad to face Chelsea on Saturday because of concerns over his fitness.

Mitroglou, who has made just one 29-minute substitute appearance since joining Fulham for £12million in January, has been called up for a friendly against South Korea.

The 25-year-old forward is likely to feature in the game in Athens, adding to the uncertainty about why he was absent from the Fulham squad against Chelsea.

Magath struggled to clarify his decision to leave Mitroglou out at the weekend, with the Fulham manager first saying the forward was not fit enough before going back on those comments by claiming he was not ready for the intensity of the Premier League.

“He is not fit enough to play 90 minutes,” said Magath last Friday, and then caused more confusion by not naming Mitroglou on the substitutes’ bench at Craven Cottage despite admitting he was “fit enough to play for half an hour”.

Mitroglou joined Fulham with a minor knee injury but appeared to be on his way to full fitness when he made his debut as a substitute against West Brom last month. Magath hopes he will be fit to face Cardiff on Saturday. Mitroglou is likely to return from international duty on Thursday and will then be assessed by Magath and the club’s medical staff before the trip to Wales.

Mitroglou, who was in Athens on Sunday night for the derby between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, is an integral part of the Greece team and coach Fernando Santos will use the South Korea friendly to continue his preparations for the World Cup.