Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi has replaced Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s squad for the upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, the Super Eagles confirmed Sunday on X.
The post reads, “Coventry City striker Taiwo Awoniyi replaces Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.”
Welcome back, Taiwo. 🦅”
Awoniyi has been called up to replace Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s squad for the upcoming crucial fixtures against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
Awoniyi is expected to link up with the Super Eagles ahead of the matches scheduled for September 25 and September 29, after recently joining newly promoted English club Coventry City from Nottingham Forest for £9 million.
The change comes after Osimhen was ruled out of the fixtures due to a right adductor muscle strain that has required a longer recovery period than initially expected.
Head coach Eric Chelle had initially included the Galatasaray striker in the squad, hoping he would recover in time to feature.
Chelle had been using Galatasaray’s Süper Lig clash against Trabzonspor as a fitness benchmark for Osimhen.
However, after the striker missed the fixture, the medical team ruled him out of the two qualifiers and the Super Eagles’ international friendly against Russia on October 6.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
