Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, has made a crucial adjustment to his initial 25-man squad submitted to CAF for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, removing the injured Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi. Reports from SCORENigeria indicate that Ndidi will miss the 2023 AFCON due to injury, and in his stead, Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has been brought in as a late replacement.
Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca revealed on Monday that both Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho were grappling with injuries. He expressed skepticism about their inclusion in Nigeria’s final AFCON squad, given their current fitness concerns. Maresca mentioned, “Kelechi [Iheanacho] and Wilfred [Ndidi] are both currently injured, but they are going to go with the international team, we will see if Nigeria want to include them or send them back, as I said, they both have an injury at the moment,” after Leicester’s victory over Huddersfield Town.
Coach Jose Peseiro and the team administrator have reportedly reached out to Alhassan Yusuf to join the AFCON training camp as the replacement for Ndidi.
There are also indications that Peseiro may consider calling up Nice striker Terem Moffi if Iheanacho remains unfit as the national team begins its camp in Abu Dhabi.
While all 24 AFCON teams must submit their final squads to CAF on Wednesday, they have until January 10 to make changes due to injuries.
It has been reported that a delegation of players and officials left Abuja on Tuesday for the Super Eagles’ training camp via Cairo, Egypt, aboard Egypt Air. Captain Ahmed Musa, Kenneth Omeruo, and Olorunleke Ojo were among the players departing from Abuja, while others took off from Lagos.
Peseiro, along with his assistants, has already arrived in the United Arab Emirates ahead of the invited players, marking the commencement of preparations for AFCON 2023. The Super Eagles are drawn in Group A alongside hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.