Jose Peseiro, Super Eagles head coach, has confirmed that Alhassan Yusuf will not play against Ivory Coast in Nigeria’s second game at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The coach spoke on Wednesday at the press conference ahead of the match.
Yusuf was one of the Super Eagles’ best performers in the 1-1 draw against Equatorial Guinea in their opening game on Sunday.
He was, however, forced off injured in the 69th minute and was replaced by Joe Aribo.
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Giving an update on the midfielder’s situation, Peseiro said although the 23-year-old’s injury is not severe, he will be on the sidelines for the clash against the Elephants.
“Yusuf is out of tomorrow’s game,” the head coach said.
“It is not a severe injury, and we got that good news yesterday, but he will not be playing against Ivory Coast.”
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The Eagles have been battling several injury concerns at AFCON. Yusuf was drafted into the team as a replacement for Wilfred Ndidi, who earlier pulled out of the team due to injury.
Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar have also withdrawn from the competition due to injuries.
However, the latter’s case is shrouded in controversy as the striker was named in Real Sociedad’s match squad a few days after he was declared unfit for AFCON.
The NFF insisted that its medical staff followed due process in examining Umar and deciding that the player should be withdrawn from the Eagles AFCON squad.
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Nigeria will face Ivory Coast in their second group game on Thursday by 6 pm.
Photo credits: Adepoju Tobi Samuel
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