The senior national team of Nigeria will likely be without three key players when they take on Guinea-Bissau in the final group game of the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Nigeria will go into the game in search of an outright win which will see them finish as group winners in the event that Equatorial Guinea fail to match their result in their game against the host Ivory Coast.
Ahead of the game, the camp of the Nigerian team is putting all efforts in place to ensure that three players who have been key to the team’s run at the tournament are fit for the game, although coach Jose Peseiro has already ruled one out in Alhassan Yusuf.
Peseiro said he hasn’t trained since he was subbed off in the first game against Equatorial Guinea. He was originally billed to make his return in tomorrow’s game but there are now fears that he could be ruled out of the tournament completely.
Another player at risk of missing the game is Zaidu Sanusi but if he trains unscathed today then he will be certified fit to play in what will be third straight game of the tournament. Another member of the back four William Troost-Ekong is also a doubt in the build up to tomorrow’s game.
Ekong played through the pain barrier in the entire second half of the 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, with what look like a thigh injury picked up in the first half of the game. He will undergo a fitness test today before a decision will be reached on his involvement.
Osas Mahawi