Ryan Giggs will not fly with Wales to Armenia this weekend because he fears the long flight could affect his recovery from a hamstring injury.
The Manchester United winger will miss Saturday's World Cup qualifier but hopes to be ready for the match against Ukraine four days later.
Giggs is training with United's reserves to regain full fitness, but has not played first-team football for a month.
He said: "Because I haven't played for a month, including being laid up with the flu for a week, both Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes (Wales manager) agreed that it would be better if I had a full week's training without the distraction of a match before I made my comeback.
"The big problem was the flight to Armenia. If Id been playing normally, it wouldn't have been an issue, but a six or seven-hour flight would have done my hamstring no good at all at this stage.
"I hope to be involved against the Ukraine as I will have 10 days of training under my belt then.
"I'm desperate to be playing again and I think that will be the best time to do it. My flu has completely cleared up now and my hamstring is coming along well."
Giggs will join up with the Wales squad on Sunday morning to prepare for Wednesday's home clash with Ukraine.