AFCON: Osimhen is replaceable, says Eguavoen 


Super Eagles caretaker manager Augustine Eguavoen is not too desperate to have Nigeria's top striker Victor Osimhen in the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, the 33rd edition which kicks off in Cameron in 17 days.

The manager is rather interested in Osimhen full return to fitness.

He sent his best wishes to injured Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and hopes he can make a return to the Nigeria national team soon.

Last month, the Napoli striker suffered facial injuries and a damaged eye socket during a Serie A derby against Inter Milan.

He was to return to action in three months. But the 22-year-old recovered faster than projected and resumed individual training last week.

He has declared himself fit for the continental tournament. 

Eguavoen would however adopt a cautious approach. “First of all, we hope that he is well and can recover as soon as possible,” Eguavoen told Nigeria Info FM, Abuja.

“I am sure that Victor has a great desire to play and help his national team, but above all he must recover his fitness as best as possible, and then we should understand if Napoli will let him go.

“If Osimhen is not with us, we have other good players who can replace him".

In the qualifiers for AFCON 2021, Osimhen was a joint top scorer with Zambia's Patson Daka, each contributing five goals in the campaign. While Osimhen's goals and other factors led to Nigeria's qualification, those of Daka could not lift Zambia beyond the third spot in Group H of the qualifiers. Two teams progressed to the final in the 12-group setup. 

Osimhen is also the leading scorer for the Super Eagles in the qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He has scored four times so far.

Two years ago when he debuted for Nigeria in AFCON, Osimhen deputised for Odion Ighalo. He featured only in the third placed match against Tunisia introduced from the bench in the 46th minute.

With five goals in 11 Serie A games and four in the Europa League this season, Osimhen is undoubtedly one of the stars expected to shine in Cameroon 2021.


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