Sadiq Umar, 26, a centre forward for Super Eagles and Real Sociedad, has been ruled out of the AFCON 2023 tournament due to an injury. He was part of Jose Peseiro’s final 25-man squad, alongside Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, and Kelechi Iheanacho.
The former Almeria player took part in the Super Eagles’ two friendly games in preparation for the AFCON event but was hauled out in the first half of the game against Guinea as a precautionary measure by Jose Peseiro’s medical staff.
However, since that game, the 6ft.4in tall striker has not been able to take part in the team training and was waved aside so as to undergo further checks, with parts of his right knee strapped with a bandage.
After further checks, it was confirmed that the Real Sociedad man has suffered a knee injury and will be out of action for nothing less than three weeks.
This comes as a big blow to the Super Eagles and the Nigerian football populace at large. Two days ago, Victor Boniface was ruled out the tournament with an adductor injury and had to be replaced by Terem Moffi.
Sadiq’s injury leaves Victor Osimhen as the only fit striker Nigeria can rely on to score goals at the moment, as Terem Moffi and Kelechi Iheanacho are yet to join up with the team, with the latter still just getting back to full fitness as well. It is yet to be known if the coaching crew will choose to replace Sadiq with someone else.
