BENIK Afobe revealed how his decision to turn down a place in DR Congo’s African Cup of Nations squad had been vindicated, insisting: “Sometimes you have to look after yourself.”

The former Wolves striker, who is in contention to end his long wait for senior international football against Botswana in Rabat, Morocco on Monday, pulled out of the DR Congo squad in January in a bid to further his club career.

Afobe made 11 starts for Cherries after the turn of the year which included starts in nine games in a row, that run broken in the final fixture of the Premier League campaign at Leicester.

A spell of three goals in six games during March and April increased to six the ex-Arsenal youngster’s overall tally. And Afobe believes he made the right call in putting club football first.

The frontman told the Daily Echo: “I haven’t regretted my decision at all.

“For me, I have always put club before country and I didn’t think it was the right time for me to leave Bournemouth in my first full season in the Premier League.

“If I get picked for the African Cup of Nations in two years then I probably would go. I just think that at the time, it wasn’t right for me.

“I’m happy with the way it’s gone. In the second half of the season, I’ve played many games and, hopefully, I can just keep building on that.”

Afobe, who joined Cherries in January last year in a then club-record £9million deal, represented England at under-21 level as well as in a string of younger age groups.

However, he chose to play for DR Congo in the senior ranks and had originally been due to make his Leopards debut in November, only to be denied the chance when the Football Association sent his registration to the wrong country – neighbouring Congo.

Having been called up for the African Cup of Nations, Afobe elected to withdraw.

Asked if he had been concerned by how his decision would be received by the DR Congo coaching staff, the striker said: “I think they did understand a bit. Obviously, they were disappointed because they wanted to have the strongest squad possible going into the tournament.

“But for me, it was about a personal decision. Some people understood it and some people didn’t but I was doing things for the benefit of this football club and myself.

“It might have been a selfish decision but sometimes you have to look after yourself.”

After the warm-up clash with Botswana, DR Congo are set to take on rivals Congo in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday.

Afobe added: “I have the greatest respect for everyone in the national set-up and, hopefully, I can have many good years with them in the future.

“Hopefully, we can win the friendly and get three points in the qualifier as well.”