January 12, (THEWILL) – The knee injury suffered by Super Eagles striker, Sadiq Umar, during Nigeria’s friendly match against Guinea has ended his hopes of making his Africa Cup of Nations debut. Scans have shown the Real Sociedad forward’s injury to be serious enough to rule him out of the 2024 tournament in Ivory Coast.
The unfortunate blow for 26-year-old Sadiq has opened up an opportunity for fellow striker, Paul Onuachu, who has been called up to replace Sadiq in Nigeria’s squad. Onuachu featured at the 2019 AFCON and has returned to goalscoring whilst on loan at Turkish club Trabzonspor this season.
Nigeria manager, Jose Peseiro, will now look to the 29-year-old to join the Super Eagles’ attack after losing both Victor Boniface and Sadiq to pre-tournament injuries. Nigeria start their AFCON campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, before also facing hosts Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea Bissau.
Peseiro will hope Onuachu can translate his improving form at the club level onto the international stage as Nigeria aim to progress from a difficult-looking Group A. Sadiq’s injury may have come as an unfortunate blow, but Onuachu has been handed an unexpected chance to excel.
It now depends on his club agreeing to allow him to feature at AFCON. This is because as he was not initially invited for the competition, Trabzonspor is under no specific obligation to part with his services but may allow him in good faith.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
