Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes have been dealt an enormous setback after staff physician confirmed that star striker Victor Osimhen is not going to journey with the squad to South Africa for Tuesday’s essential conflict towards Bafana Bafana.
Osimhen, who was substituted throughout Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Rwanda in Uyo, was identified with a bruise on his shin.
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In accordance with medical updates, the previous Napoli ahead awoke on Sunday morning with discomfort and has since been dominated out of the journey as a precaution.
The absence of the talismanic striker—Nigeria’s main objective scorer in latest campaigns—leaves Coach Chelle with a significant choice headache because the Tremendous Eagles put together for a must-win encounter in Bloemfontein.
Nigeria at the moment sit third in Group D with 10 factors, trailing leaders South Africa (16 factors) and Benin Republic (11 factors). With solely three matches left to play, the Eagles should safe most factors of their subsequent outings to maintain their qualification hopes alive.
Osimhen’s damage provides to the strain surrounding the match, particularly following the controversy over South African authorities’ refusal to grant touchdown clearance for Nigeria’s delegation earlier within the day.
The Tremendous Eagles will now look to Tolu Arokodare, who scored the decisive objective towards Rwanda, alongside Kelechi Iheanacho and different forwards to step up in Osimhen’s absence.
This improvement makes Tuesday’s showdown much more dramatic, as Nigeria should now show their resilience with out their star man.
