First-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali faces a significant race against time to feature in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after sustaining both ankle and hand injuries, according to his club officials.
The 29-year-old shot-stopper, who led the Super Eagles to the final of the last AFCON tournament, has been sidelined since Nigeria’s World Cup qualifying playoff against the Democratic Republic of Congo last month.
Vusimuzi Vilakazi, the coach for Nwabali’s South African Premier Soccer League club, Chippa United, revealed the severity of the dual injuries, casting heavy doubt on the player’s availability for the continental showpiece.
“I doubt it, looking at the state of his injury,” Vilakazi told a local sports outlet.
The club coach elaborated on the necessity of surgical intervention for one of the injuries, stating, “It’s an ankle injury, but then also the hand needs an operation because he’s been playing with that injured hand for a while now, and he aggravated the injury while he was in Morocco.”
Despite the grim assessment from his club coach, Nwabali remains optimistic about a swift recovery. Vilakazi added, “I don’t think he will make it, but when I was talking to him, he was confident that he would recover very soon, but obviously, you will understand because he’s a player, he wants to be there at the Cup of Nations finals.”
Nigeria has included Nwabali in its preliminary squad ahead of the December 11 deadline set by CAF for the final 27-man roster. The potential loss of Nwabali compounds mounting injury woes for Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle, who is already dealing with other defensive concerns ahead of their Group C opener against Tanzania on December 23.
