… as increasing injury records worsen Eagles strikers’ crisis
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have suffered another late injury blow leading up to the 2023 AFCON kick-off on Saturday as Real Sociedad striker, Sadiq Umar has also pulled out of the tournament due to a knee injury he suffered during Monday’s warm-up game against Guinea in Dubai.
Officials said he will be out of action for at least three weeks and will have to return to Spain to be attended to by his club medics, SCORENigeria reports.
This would have been the striker’s second AFCON after he also featured at the 2021 edition in Cameroon.
Sadiq Umar’s latest injury hit has worsened the Super Eagles strikers’ crisis.
As it is, Victor Osimhen is now the only out-and-out striker on the Super Eagles squad without an issue before Sunday’s opening Group A clash against Equatorial Guinea.
Kelechi Iheanacho has only recovered from a muscular injury and he is only due to join the squad at the weekend.
Terem Moffi, a late replacement for the injured Victor Boniface, will only join by Sunday when the Super Eagles open their AFCON campaign against Equatorial Guinea.
Both Kelechi Iheanacho and Terem Moffi will not be available for selection on Sunday, so, they are effectively ruled out of this game
Following, Nigeria will be pinning their AFCON hopes on Napoli marksman Victor Osimhen, a striker so feared and coveted around the globe.
But, can the Napoli forward steer the Super Eagles to their first continental glory since 2013?
Describing Osimhen:
20 goals in 27 caps is a superb goal-scoring ratio at international level. Victor Osimhen is no ordinary striker, as he has proved in the past few seasons with Lille in France and now especially with Italian champions Napoli.
He fired Diego Maradona’s old team to their first Scudetto in 33 years with 26 goals in the league. Those antics earned him the top scorer ‘Capocannoniere’ award in Serie A.
No wonder a host of European clubs are willing to pay upwards of €100m for the 25-year-old, who is particularly admired for his powerful, rangy running of the channels and clinical coldness in front of goal.
Victor Osimhen is arguably one of the finest and most well-rounded strikers on the planet. Not since Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Nwankwo Kanu or Obafemi Martins have the Super Eagles laid claim to such a feared and predatory forward.
As Nigerian fans anticipate Victor Osimhen will bring smiles to their faces, the burden on his shoulders will be greater now with the prolific 23-year-old and red-hot Victor Boniface withdrawing with an injury. If Nigeria goes all the way in Ivory Coast, they’ll need superstar Osimhen to fire on all cylinders.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are contesting in Group A alongside Equatorial Guinea, hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau. Their matches against those respective opposition will be staged on 14, 18 and 22 January.
