With just one week to Nigeria’s all-important Qatar 2022 World Cup first leg qualifying play-off clash against Ghana, the Super Eagles may be without influential midfielder Wilfred Ndidi for the encounter.
The 25-year-old sustained a knee injury while in action for Leicester City in Thursday’s Europa Conference League game against Rennes at Roazhon Park.
The midfielder, who started the second leg, hit the turf in the 60th minute after hurting his knee in a clash with Rennes’ Gaetan Laborde.
Ndidi was replaced by James Maddison in the 61st minute after a failed attempt to run the injury off – providing a fresh fitness worry for coach Austin Eguavoen ahead of the game scheduled for the Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi on March 25.
The former Genk man is one of the five midfielders alongside Frank Onyeka, Joe Aribo, Akinkunmi Amoo and Oghenekaro Etebo listed by Eguavoen for the game.
He is expected to undergo some scans later today (Friday) to ascertain the extent of the injury.
Ndidi has been an ever-present figure for the Eagles since he made his debut in 2015, making 43 appearances. For Leicester City, he has played 30 games this term.
Meanwhile, his compatriots Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho featured in the game as the Foxes advanced to the next round on 3-2 aggregate despite losing 2-1 in the second leg.
After the game, Leicester City coach Brendan Rodgers said the Nigerian midfielder hurt his medial knee ligament in the encounter.
According to ucsfhealth.org, the recovery time for a medial knee ligament injury, depending on the severity of the damage, takes a minimum of six weeks for it to heal.
This, however, raises fresh doubt over his availability for the game.
“Marc Albrighton felt his groin while Ndidi hurt his medial knee ligament, so, we will see what goes,” Rodgers said.
“The squad has been stretched a lot this season due to injuries. Most of the season we lost a lot of players.”
Credit: punchng.com
